This intriguing horror story is based around a sleepy rural town and a legendary party in the woods. Known as the Revelry, the festivities are shrouded in secrecy and only the graduating class of students are invited to attend.

Though the Revelry has occurred for generations, nobody ever speaks of what happens there. Of course, there are plenty of rumours, and occasionally, attendees have never been seen again.

Bitsy’s family has lived in the town for generations, but her best friend Amy only arrived relatively recently. When Amy discovers an invitation to the Revelry, the two sneak into the woods for the party, despite serious reluctance on Bitsy’s behalf to break the time-honoured rules. Afterwards, they remember nothing. But their dresses have significant burns on them and everything feels different. Bitsy becomes convinced that whenever Amy has a bit of good luck, she has an equivalent amount of bad luck.

As their friendship begins to fracture, Bitsy grows more determined to work out what really happened at the Revelry, who has gone missing in the past, and how to break what she believes is a curse on her.

This is the third YA offering from author Katherine Webber, who, with her husband, also writes the successful Dragon Realm middle-fiction series as Katie and Kevin Tsang. This supernatural thriller has an exciting premise and delivers on its intrigue. It also has a very realistic investigation of the complexities of teenage female friendship. It will appeal to fans of Melissa Albert’s The Hazel Wood or Kate Alice Marshall’s Rules for Vanishing and is suitable for ages 13+.

Angela Crocombe is a senior buyer at Readings Kids