The sisters of Straygarden Place / Hayley Chewins.
Record details
- ISBN: 9781536212273 :
- ISBN: 153621227X :
- Physical Description: 200 pages ; 22 cm
- Edition: First edition.
- Publisher: Somerville, Massachusetts : Candlewick Press, 2020.
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Subject: | Magic > Fiction. Dwellings > Fiction. Fear > Fiction. Sisters > Fiction. Family secrets > Fiction. |
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- 1 of 1 copy available at Town of Hanover Libraries.
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- 0 current holds with 1 total copy.
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Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | Due Date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Howe Library | J CHE | 31254003697618 | Children's chapter books | Available | - |
The Sisters of Straygarden Place
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Excerpt
The Sisters of Straygarden Place
The house dressed Mayhap Ballastian in blue on the day her sister disappeared. Blue for sorrow. Blue for a bruise. Blue for cold. Mayhap stood in the vaulted entrance hall of Straygarden Place, peering through tiny Âfrond-Âshaped windows at the silver grass that swamped them. The grass grew taller than the house itself, surrounding it on all sides. It stuffed the keyholes and scraped against the roof. It shook the walls and made paintings shiver. It took on the color of the sky as it changed, and right now was tinted with the mysterious sort of Âpurple that arrived every day as the afternoon faded, making the house feel more like a sunken ship than a sprawling mansion. Mayhap tapped the heel of her shoe on the white Âmarble floor anxiously. She straightened the cuffs of her indigo coat and adjusted her kidskin gloves. Her droomhund sat at her ankle, whining, blinking his black, black eyes. "Shhh, Seekatrix," she whispered, gathering him into her arms. She stroked his head. His fur was wispy as whispers and inky as a nighttime sky without stars. "I know you're upset," she told him. "But we don't have a choice." Mayhap and her sisters Âhadn't unlocked the front door since their parents had left them. Pavonine had been only three when Cygnet and Bellwether Ballastian had gone. Mayhap had been five and could still remember her father saying Âgoodbyeâ--ââÂhis cold hands in hers, his eyes puffy, always glancing away. Her mother had stood beside him, an elegant blur in a Âwide-Âbrimmed hat. Mayhap could not remember a kiss from her, a Âsingle touch. Hours after their departure, Winnow had discovered a letter in the lap of a porcelain doll and had read its precise instructions aloud in her best Âeldest-Âsister voice: Do not leave the house. Do not go into the grass. Wait for us. Sleep darkly. Mayhap had asked the house to frame the Âletterâ--ââÂa Âsingle Âhand-Âscrawled Âpageâ--ââÂand to hang it up above their bed as a reminder. The rules were Âsimple and easy to follow. Mayhap Âdidn't like the thought of disobeying. But now she had to. Because she had to save Winnow. Winnow had been missing all day. Mayhap had searched for her everywhere. And then she had seen her older sister in the silver grass. Her Âcoat's burgundy shoulders and her dark, windswept hair. Her droomhund, Evenflee, close at her heels. Winnow was out there. The grass parted like curtains, allowing Mayhap to see patches of sky through the mosaic of glittering windows. Floating trees drifted through the Âairâ--ââÂa whole orchard of Âthemâ--ââÂtheir roots as white as marzipan and as frizzy as brushed ringlets, their boughs black against the bright vermilion of their petals. Her mother had christened them wanderroot , and there were more in the conservatory, which Cygnet had pulled into the house with rope, blistering her hands. Mayhap took a breath, tucked Seekatrix under one arm, and turned the key in the lock. The heavy door opened easily, as though its hinge had been greased with butter. The silver strands, clinging together again, appeared as solid as a serving plate. And then a long, looping blade of Âgrassâ--ââÂthick as piano wire and shiny as a sugar Âspoonâ--ââÂslithered around Mayhap's arm. Seekatrix growled. Mayhap shuddered. All she wanted to do was shut the door. But the door had been opened. The grass had found its way in. Dread soaked her, as though she'd climbed into a bath of icy water with all her clothes on. "Please," she said. "I only want to find my sisterâ--" "You are so kind to ask us to stay," hissed the grass, drawing itself into the room. Seekatrix yapped. "You Âc-Âcan't," Mayhap stuttered. She pushed against the grass's tendrils. "You've opened the door, Mayhap Ballastian. An open door is an invitation. And it is not polite to retract an invitation." "I'm sorry. I Âdidn't mean to be Âimpoliteâ--" "If we cannot be permitted to come in," said the grass, as though it were speaking with a hundred and three tongues at once, "are you going to come outside?" Before Mayhap had a chance to answer, the grass yanked her out of the house with one swift swipe. It pummeled her, dragging her through flashing and flickering light, stinging at her cheeks, Seekatrix still in her grasp. And then it set her down abruptly. Mayhap's ankles Ârattled with the hard landing, her bones clicking like the stiff cogs of clocks. She fought to catch her breath. Coughing, she said, "I'm only looking for my sister. Winnow. I meanâ--ââÂhave you seen her, by any chance?" Seekatrix was wriggling. She let him go, and he trotted around her dizzily. A laugh hiccuped through the grass, and it parted its strands, then slid about her elbows and shins like snakes in paintings of gardens. "And Pavonine?" it asked. "Have you lost her, too?" "No," said Mayhap crossly, struggling against it, "of course I Âhaven't." "Not yet," sneered the grass. It laughed again, and Mayhap could see up into the mauve sky, the clouds laced with the Âdark-Âorange blossoms of meandering trees. A white bat, small as a mouse, flung itself through the air, diving into dusk as though into a still pond. "Pavonine's in the library," said Mayhap. "With Tutto. He's telling her stories. She Âdoesn't know Winnow's gone. I saw Âherâ--ââÂI saw ÂWinnowâ--ââÂthrough the window. She was walking. With her droomhund. I'd searched all the rooms, and I went back to our bedroom just in case. And I Âsawâ--ââÂyou swallowed her." "Ah, our Âlittle liar," said the grass, tittering affectionately. It slackened its hold on Mayhap's arms and legs to brush against her cheeks. One more laugh, she thought, and then I'll be free. "Why did you call me that?" she asked. "Why did you call me your Âlittle liar?" The grass snickered, loosening around her arms and legs even more, like hair falling from a plait. "Because," it said. "Because you are ours, Âaren't you?" There , thought Mayhapâ--ââÂthere was a gap. She slipped one foot out of the silver, then the other, whipping her arms from the grass's Âtangle. She turned and she ran, stumbling, whistling for Seekatrix to follow. The grass Âbristled, but it Âdidn't reach for her, and Mayhap did not pause to ask why. She ran up the wide front steps and dived into the entrance hall, Seekatrix at her heels. She threw her body against the door, turning the key in the lock as quickly as her shaking fingers would allow. "We'll wait," said the grass. "We'll wait for you, Mayhap Ballastian. We have been patient for a long time, and we will be patient still." Mayhap slid to the floor. Seekatrix crept into her arms like a jittery shadow, and she let him lick away her tears. "Winnow," she sobbed into his fur. "What have you done?" Excerpted from The Sisters of Straygarden Place by Hayley Chewins All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.