First published 2018
Willa Herot lives behind the gates of Herot Hall, a pristine subdivision where she shuttles between playdates and dinner parties with her son Dylan. Beyond the surveillance cameras and motion sensors, Dana survives in a mountain cave with her boy Gren, whom she calls Grendel. Dana returned from military service to find herself unexpectedly a mother, never planning or wanting this child whose origins remain mysterious to her. The two worlds collide when Gren wanders past the barriers designed to exclude him and takes Dylan away from the manicured lawns and neat wildflower rows. As the mothers fight to protect their children, the fortress-like suburb reveals its true nature. Headley reimagines the ancient Beowulf epic through the eyes of those typically cast as monsters, transforming Dana and Gren from threats into complex characters struggling against a system that views them as dangerous outsiders while the privileged residents of Herot Hall see themselves as the righteous defenders of paradise.
Genres: literary-fiction, mystery, contemporary, family-drama
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: Herot Hall, Mountain Cave
Period: Contemporary
320 pages · Kindle Edition · MCD
Content warnings: anxiety, depression, mental-illness