The Hollow Inside

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What to expect

Sadie meets The Glass Castle in a smart, gripping, and twisty YA debut about a girl seeking to reveal the truth about her mother—and herself.

Seventeen-year-old Phoenix has spent much of her life drifting from town to town with her mom Nina, using their charms to swindle and steal to get by. Now they’ve made it to their ultimate destination, Mom’s hometown of Jasper Hollow. The plan: bring down Ellis Bowman, the man who ruined Nina’s life.

When Phoenix gets caught spying on Ellis, she spins a convincing story that inadvertently gives her full access to the Bowman family. As she digs deeper into their secrets (and begins to fall for daughter Melody), she finds herself entrenched in the tale of a death and a disappearance that doesn’t entirely line up with what Mom has told her.

But there’s even more to this story Phoenix doesn’t know. Who, if anyone, is telling the whole truth about what happened? Debut author Brooke Lauren Davis explores the murkiness of right and wrong, of choices and consequences, of heroes and villains, in an eerily compelling and thought-provoking small-town saga.

Critics Review

  • The Hollow Inside is a haunting debut, as thrilling as it is lyrical. Steeped in small town secrets and layered mysteries that unfold with perfect pacing, Brooke Lauren Davis delivers a powerful story about the lengths we’re willing to go to for family, and the price we pay when the ones we love reveal their true natures. I loved every bit of this twisty, poetic book.

    New York Times bestselling author David Arnold
  • A propulsive, gritty thriller from an exciting new voice in YA fiction. I can’t wait to see what Brooke Lauren Davis does next.

    Kara Thomas, author of THE CHEERLEADERS
  • The author evocatively captures the feel of small-town life, and Phoenix, whose longing for a family is palpable, inspires sympathy, as does Nina, whose own story is interspersed throughout. . . . A page-turning debut.

    Kirkus Reviews
  • An engaging debut that propels readers through a dark tangle of lies and secrets.

    Booklist
  • Debut author Davis creates a complex, suspenseful story about small-town secrets, vengeance, and compassion.

    Publishers Weekly

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