The Keening
Young Readers

The Keening

By
A. LaFaye
“Powerful and darkly lyrical.” —PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
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“In my fourteenth year the influenza infected my whole world… . Seems as though just as the Great War came to a close, the folks of Downeast Maine set to fighting a war of their own.”

Born into an artistic and eccentric family, Lyza laments that her only talent is carving letters into wood. At least, that is, until the devastating loss of her mother to influenza during the pandemic of 1918. The illness has settled on their small coastal town in Maine, and the funeral marches pass Lyza’s house almost daily. When her unconventional father begins to prepare for the return of his dead wife, Lyza is the only one to protect him from being committed to a nearby work farm. Awash with grief and longing for her mother, Lyza journeys into the thin territory that divides the living from the dead.

Relying on her courage and an undiscovered talent, Lyza must save her father and find her own path. From the celebrated author of Worth, this is a powerful story of love that persists beyond the grave.

ISBN
9781571316943
Publish Date
Pages
182
Dimensions
5.25 × 8 × 0.44 in
Weight
7.6 oz
Cover Art

Praise and Prizes

  • “A. LaFaye explores the thin line between artistry and mental illness and offers visions of dead spirits in darkly lyrical language that makes for a powerful and unsettling book.”

    Publishers Weekly

  • “A dreamlike quality flows through this novel set during the influenza pandemic of 1918… . These poetic attributes also lend a timelessness; even though the story takes place nearly a century ago, it feels easily transferable to modern times.”

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