With their mother dead and their father admitted to a mental asylum, 17-year-old Verity and her younger sister, Lilah, board a train to rural Arkansas to await adoption. Lilah is quickly scooped up by a stately schoolteacher, while Verity is taken in by a family hoping for a sturdy male farmhand. What starts as a story evocative of Anne of Green Gables quickly summons horror vibes, thanks to an abandoned well in a forest that grows thick with inexplicable fog and body-numbing cold. As Verity searches for a way to reunite with Lilah, she discovers that her own parents' past is linked with the town's thriving superstitions and buried secrets. The eerie factor is high in Goodman's dark, atmospheric debut, which is best read with the lights on for all but the bravest of readers. It takes a stroll to get to the meat of the story, but the journey is made pleasant by a cast of homey characters, rich prose, and crackling romance. Perfect for fans of spectral historical YA.

In 1907, a web of secrets is unraveled after 17-year-old Verity and her younger sister, Lilah, arrive by way of an orphan train. Verity Pruitt is forced to abandon her offer of college acceptance when her widowed father is involuntarily committed to an asylum. Arriving in Wheeler, Arkansas, Verity is heartbroken to discover that Lilah is to be adopted by Maeve Donovan, a beautiful, mysterious woman, and her taciturn uncle while Verity is taken in as an indenture by brusque but kindly farmers. It's clear from the start that there is something otherworldly about the woods near the town, and as Verity struggles to find a way to reunite with her sister, she uncovers layer after layer of a tragic backstory that echoes traditional fairy tales, interspersed with her straightforward narrative. Verity's smart, determined, and sometimes stubborn persona will bring readers into her corner. The plot spools out lengthily though there's never a lot of question about its likely resolution and even less doubt that Verity and the bookish, handsome Abel Atchley will find their way past their initial friction. Still, this blend of genres will appeal to a variety of readers with its detailed setting and plot. All characters, both primary and secondary, seem to be White. An engaging, if predictable, take on the tropes of historical fiction and fantasy. (Historical fantasy. 12-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Gr 6--10--In 1907, Verity will be 18 soon, and her hope is to become a doctor like her father. With their mother long gone and her father in an asylum for the mentally ill, Verity and her 11-year-old sister Lilah are taken in by the Children's Benevolence Society and put on an orphan train to Wheeler, AR, where their parents once lived. Lilah is taken in by the beloved town teacher, Miss Maeve, while Verity is taken in by an older couple who live on a farm near the woods. These woods contain a suspicious well where people have drowned, and many who live nearby know the story of Mary Mayhew, a young woman who became pregnant, lost her child, and died alone in the area. When Verity begins to see suspicious sights like children in the woods and a fire in the barn that isn't there, she learns that Mary is connected to her family and to Miss Maeve, and that Miss Maeve will do anything to keep Lilah with her forever. Set in the early twentieth century, this is a solid choice for readers seeking historical fiction with paranormal elements. The plot moves at a suspenseful pace as readers learn how the characters are connected, and a romance with twists and turns develops between Verity and a boy named Abel. The characters are fully crafted, and the touches of magic include potions, candle tricks, and spells that tie people to places. Each plot point is tied up nicely to make for a bittersweet ending. VERDICT An engaging historical novel with fantastical elements, this is a good fit for mid to large-sized collections, or where Southern settings circulate well.--Liz Anderson, DC P.L.

Abandonments, rural secrets, and revenge web Goodman's earnest but overstuffed historical fantasy debut. In June 1907, impoverished 17-year-old Verity Pruitt and her dreamy sister, Lilah, 11, leave New York on an Arkansas-bound orphan train. But Verity's determination to earn them passage back to New York and study medicine derails when a robber baron and his ethereal schoolteacher niece, Maeve, are approved to adopt only Lilah. To stay close, Verity indentures herself to a kindly farm couple nearby and their charming nephew, Abel. But the secrets of the town's haunted woods connect the siblings' institutionalized father, Maeve, and the disappearance of a preacher's spurned, pregnant daughter; Verity must unravel the connections them to save her sister and herself. Though a warm, grounded romance delights, a sprawl of overfamiliar plot elements undermine their own suspense, and outdated ones--a notably unattractive antagonist, Verity's gendered fate--may alienate modern readers. A sincere small-town ghost story that never quite coheres. Ages 13--up. Agent: Mary C. Moore, Kimberley Cameron & Assoc. (Oct.)