The Cedars

After the death of their mother, two brothers rely on each other to overcome all of the forces—both mundane and magical—aiming to tear them apart.

From the award-winning creator of RUST comes a deeply affecting middle grade novel about grief, resilience, and the enduring bonds that shape who we become.

Dennison and Keats McKay have learned to live unseen. Since their mother’s death and their placement with an abusive uncle, the brothers have come to trust only each other—and to find refuge in the hidden cove beyond the forest, where the world feels, briefly, like it might still be theirs.

Everything changes when they discover the body of an astronaut washed ashore.

In his pocket are seeds—strange, otherworldly, and quietly powerful. As the seeds begin to take root, the forest transforms in unsettling ways, blurring the line between the natural and the unknown. Drawn into this growing mystery, Dennison and Keats must navigate forces far beyond their control.

But the more the line between the wild and human merges, the closer Dennison and Keats come to confronting the question that is more frightening than anything growing in the trees: what does it mean to hold on to each other, when everything else is slipping away?