The Attic Tragedy
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- $2.99
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- $2.99
Publisher Description
In a small town haunted by whispers of the past, two young women forge a bond that transcends the boundaries of life and death.
Sylvie, the ethereal new girl, carries the weight of unseen voices, while George, the town's outcast, yearns for connection. When George defends Sylvie from the school bullies, their friendship blossoms, drawing them into the shadowy world of Sylvie's antique shop, where ghostly echoes linger in every object.
As their bond deepens, George's scars sing with longing, leading them toward a tragedy as inevitable as the whispers of the attic. Will their friendship be enough to overcome the darkness that threatens to consume them both? Perfect for readers who enjoy atmospheric, dark fiction with a touch of the supernatural.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Ashley-Smith debuts with a gorgeous, melancholy coming-of-age novella about girlhood and ghosts. Fat, masculine George, an outcast at Blackworth High School, retreats into her job at the school library and ritualized self-harm at home. Then comes Sylvie, a strange new student who floats around campus with her head in the clouds. George's fascination with Sylvie blossoms into a friendship when George steps in to stop a gang of boys from harassing her. Sylvie takes George to her father's antique shop and discloses a mystical ability: whenever she touches the antiques, they whisper the sad histories of their previous owners to her. George and Sylvie's close, erotically charged friendship dissipates after high school graduation, as Sylvie moves on to a more mundane life away from the supernatural and George is left heartbroken and confused. Though the writing is immersive and the characters nuanced, the scenes of George's life without Sylvie meander, lessening the impact of the work as a whole. Still, Ashley-Smith expertly tinges his contemporary setting with Gothicism, nostalgia, and creeping dread. This eerie, ethereal tale marks Ashley-Smith as a writer to watch.
