The Massey family loves their house. It’s been in the family for
generations, and the land on which it sits has been with them even
longer. In the summer everyone comes through to visit and the house is
alive with family friends, barbecues and lobster boils. But come fall, the
mood shifts as all of the kids start training for their turn in the basement.
Shea, the youngest Massey is training extra hard. She’s thirteen and that
means this is her year to battle on Solstice. Her older siblings won’t tell
her exactly what’s in the basement, you don’t know until you’re fighting it.
She’s excited finally to be in the know.
She does know that whatever happens in the basement every December
21 makes it possible for the Masseys to spend the rest of the year
enjoying their home and all that it brings. It is her family duty.
But something about this year is different. Mama’s extra quiet this fall,
and the house is breathing early.
Maruyama explores the dangers of tradition, inheritance, and the sins of the father in this horror novella.
“Maruyama takes the reader from a child’s fear of what may lurk in the shadow, to the terror of certainty, to the horror of complicity, where the blood on your hands counts as a badge of honor.” — J.D. Horn, author of the Witches of New Orleans series
Kate Maruyama’s Family Solstice isn’t just heartfelt, disturbing and wonderfully written it’s also a brilliant dissection of family dynamics and (yes really) America’s troubled history. I can’t recommend it highly enough.” –Lisa Morton, six time winner of the Bram Stoker Award
