What We Harvest

Gr 8 Up–The four founding families of Hollow’s End have been raising miracle crops for generations, bringing stability and lucrative tourism to the idyllic and secluded farming town. When the quicksilver blight attacks, it destroys the crops first, coating plants in glistening silver sludge and a rotting stench. Next it comes for the animals and finally for the people, who develop foggy white eyes and run off to the forest, returning at night to mindlessly attack. After Wren is exposed to the blight, she and her ex-boyfriend Derek try to stop the menace and learn the dark truth about their families’ legacy. Fraistat’s debut is richly detailed and pulsing with harrowing suspense. As Wren and Derek race around town in a truck and on horseback, narrowly escaping the increasingly aggressive blighted horde, Wren grapples with her own transformation. Her perspective as the blight overtakes her is intriguing, adding complexity with the discovery that the blighted are not senseless zombies. Horror tropes are put to good use to create a tense plot that unfolds at a breakneck pace. Lush detail brings the town and the gruesome blight to life, along with a hefty dose of body horror. Fraistat uses the concept of harvest to explore the idea of taking responsibility for one’s own actions and the lingering harms of ancestors’ wrongs. Wren presents as white, while Derek presents as white and Latinx. Derek’s sister and her girlfriend are prominent secondary characters. Recommend to fans of Rory Power’s Wilder Girls or Claire Legrand’s Sawkill Girls.