Strychacz (House of Thorns) offers an alluring tale about the Pied Piper of Hamelin that examines fate, family expectations, and legacy. In Hollow, residents are warned never to follow the Pied Piper’s sinister music, which flows into town from Otherhollow, an alternate magical realm. But every 13 years, someone succumbs to the mesmerizing song and vanishes without a trace. Violet Holloway, 18, has been raised on stories about how the Piper stole his magic from her ancestor, Elora. As the last Holloway witch, Violet believes it’s her destiny to kill the Piper and reclaim the powers. When her best friend, Blair, disappears, Violet ventures into Otherhollow to rescue her, only to discover that the history she’d been told about her family, her town, and the Piper is far more complex than she’s known. While Violet and the Piper’s dynamic rapidly shifts between hostility and flirtation, making their developing romance feel somewhat implausible, the dark, decaying world of Otherhollow serves as a moody backdrop, and Violet’s gradual reassessment of the stories that have shaped her gives the novel emotional weight. It’s a fresh spin on a familiar folktale with an emphasis on choosing one’s own path outside of inherited narratives. Ages 14 and up. Agent: Taylor Martindale Kean, Full Circle Literary. (Nov.)

– Publishers Weekly, 9/11/26

A novel teeming with magic, oral storytelling, intricate character webs, and the power of fate and love. Violet ­Holloway, a white female, has been told stories for as long as she can remember about the monstrous Piper, the Lord of the Woods, and how to protect herself from his otherworld magic. When Violet’s grandmother passes away, Violent knows that as the last in line—the thirteenth ­Holloway—she is destined to kill the Piper and break the curse that has been haunting her family for years. But somehow, both Violet and her best friend, Blair, find themselves stuck in the Piper’s complex labyrinth. As the story unfolds, truths and lies of past and present surface, and Violet is forced to decide where home truly lies. The plot line is intense, mysterious, and highly ­suspenseful as each chapter builds upon the previous one, with flashbacks from the ­Holloway past sprinkled throughout. ­Dialogue ­between characters moves the plot along quickly and reveals layers of secret character traits, feelings, and thoughts. Readers will find Violet resourceful and inquisitive and the Piper to be much different than traditionally portrayed. Though magic is the primary theme, it is the human elements that make the book impossible to put down: readers will become invested in the lives of the characters, and through them understand that there is more to a person than what is seen on the outside. VERDICT A powerful “Beauty and the Beast”–like novel with a “Pied Piper” thread that ­unpacks the challenges of the past while celebrating what could be. 

– School Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW, 9/1/26