The first book in a rich, eerie middle grade fantasy duology full of magic, monsters, and miles and miles of untamed forest, from the author of The Prince of Nowhere. Motivated by desperation and brotherhood, a boy must venture deep into the Nightwood to find a cure for his mysteriously sick brother. Perfect for fans of Over the Garden Wall and Serafina and the Black Cloak.
For twelve-year-old Nox Winters, the town of Evergreen isnât homeâitâs a tourist trap in middle-of-nowhere Maine for amateur cryptozoologists hoping to spot its infamous legend, a batlike creature known as the Evergreen Devil. But his twin brother, Noah, has been wasting away from an illness that has left medical professionals stumped, and the doctors here in Evergreen are his last hope. And Nox goes where Noah goes.
But as Noahâs condition worsens, Nox begins to suspect that Evergreen is doing more harm than goodâand that there might be some truth to its tales of fearsome cryptids and mysterious disappearances. When Noah falls into a deep sleep that Nox canât wake him from, Noxâs only chance at saving him lies in the surrounding forest; there, he discovers a hidden world where itâs always nighttime, full of powerful magic, supernatural creatures, and capricious minor gods. Nox must venture deeper into an endless night and successfully bargain with the terrifying Keepers of the forest for a cure to Noahâs ailment or else neither twin will leave Evergreen alive.