"Seven generations of blood, sweat, and toil had dripped from my family into this soil. That was the price we paid to tame this patch of land -- our farm. Our home."
"You don't understand. It's a lie, this idea of a free miracle."
"NOW IS THE HOUR OF SILVER AND GOLD"
The Lowdown
I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and Random House Children's Books for an honest review.
Hollow's End, a beautiful picturesque town where many tourists came to see the beautiful animals and miracle crops they grew; the Warrens' rainbow wheat from Wren's farm, the Pewters' silver-veined ghost melons from Derek's farm, the Murphys' golden yams, and the Harrises' prized horses and dogs. That is until the quicksilver mercury blight started killing the farms. Silver sludge bled from the earth. First it infected the crops, then the animals, and then it came for the people. White moth-eaten eyes, torn skin, and mold in their mouths smelling of rot. The government arrived in town under the pretense of helping, going door to door giving out flyers. The flyers said that if you suspected someone may have been exposed to the quicksilver blight, contact your emergency triage clinic so they could be treated for mercury exposure. People who were infected turned themselves in, but no one ever came back. But the people of Harlow's End knew the blight was than just mercury and that there wasn't any treatment.
Now the blight has come for Wren and with her parents missing, the only person she can call is her ex-boyfriend, Derek. She's been ignoring him for months since they broke up after what he did. When Derek agrees to help, they realize they don't know as much as they thought they did about their ancestors, the founders of Harlow's End, and their miracle crops. And soon find out miracles aren't free.
Told from Wren's point of view.
The Feels
Well wow. That was a crazy read in a good way. I like the intricacies of the story. Plague-like story with living zombies. I love a good backstory, but man this was, well let's just say I surely didn't see that coming, AT ALL! I can tell the author put a lot of work into the story. The only thing I didn't like was Wren's attitude. She was a selfish little buttface. I mean, the dog Wren, the dog? Priorities sweet heart! If you wanna know what I'm talking about, go check it out as well as the author!
Overall Rating: 4.5 Stars
Recommendations: The Last She by H. J. Nelson
Content Warning: Swearing, Violence, Animal Death, Murder, Imprisonment, Human Sacrifice
Steam Rating: Adorable Little Fairy Tale