The Narrow

Title - The Narrow

Author - Kate Alice Marshall

Release Date - August 1, 2023

Genre - YA Horror

Synopsis

   A deliciously terrifying novel about a ghost who uncovers a teen girl's best kept secrets while haunting her boarding school, perfect for fans of Lost in the Never Woods and The Haunting of Bly Manor .

    Everyone has heard the story of the Narrow. The river that runs behind the Atwood School is only a few feet across and seemingly placid, but beneath the surface, the waters are deep and vicious. It’s said that no one who has fallen in has ever survived.

   

    Eden White knows that isn’t true. Six years ago, she saw Delphine Fournier fall into the Narrow—and live.

    Delphine now lives in careful isolation, sealed off from the world. Even a single drop of unpurified water could be deadly to her, and no one but Eden has any idea why. Eden has never told anyone what she saw or spoken to Delphine since, but now, unable to cover her tuition, she has to make a her expenses will be paid in return for serving as a live-in companion to Delphine.

    Eden finds herself drawn to the strange and mysterious girl, and the two of them begin to unravel each other’s secrets. Then Eden discovers what happened to the last girl who lived with she was found half-drowned on dry land. Suddenly Eden is waking up to wet footprints tracking to the end of her bed, the sound of rain on the windows when the skies are clear, and a ghostly silhouette in her doorway. Something is haunting Delphine—and now it’s coming for Eden, too.

Read - Aug 8th 2023
Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Review -

    Everyone has heard the story of the Narrow. The river that runs behind the Atwood School is only a few feet across and seemingly placid, but beneath the surface, the waters are deep and vicious. It’s said that no one who has fallen in has ever survived.

Eden White knows that isn’t true. Six years ago, she saw Delphine Fournier fall into the Narrow—and live.

    First off I have to say how much I adore Kate Alice Marshall, her story Rules For Vanishing was the reason I started reading more horror and found my love for it. I have read everything she has published and will continue to do so. I was ecstatic to find a copy of The Narrow the Friday before the release date and quickly jumped in. The only issue I had with the physical copy is the dust jacket image seemed pixelated or like a bad print job, I'm not sure if that was intentional, or if I just got a bad copy. Either way the cover is beautiful.

    We start off being introduced to our main character Eden and her friends as they do the schools age old tradition of jumping across the Narrow, the extremely fast and dangerous river that runs just outside their school and where everything starts and ends. We find out vague information about things being horrible over the summer for Eden and learning about the one girl who came back after falling into the Narrow, who is extremely sick and locked up in a building on campus and that is where our story begins.

    I did guess part of the twist half way through the book but not the full thing. I did not see the other twist coming and was surprised at the direction the book went. It was spectacularly spooky and very atmospheric. Very dark academia, spooky school setting with ghosts. I also really enjoyed all the Sapphic aspects in the story. I wouldn't say this is the best book by Kate Alice Marshall but it is definitely worth the read, the spooks and the chills. 

Trigger Warning:

Dead kids, ghosts, gaslighting, secrets, drug/alcohol abuse, emotional and physical abuse

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