107 Capital Way N
Join us as we celebrate the Olympia launch of Hal Schrieve’s debut novel, Out of Salem on Monday, April 22 at 7:00 PM. Hal grew up in Olympia and will talk about and sign hir first novel.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Z Chilworth, a genderqueer fourteen-year-old witch, has just been killed in a car crash, along with their parents and sisters. Yet, somehow, Z has woken up—this time as a zombie. Struggling to adjust to their
newfound status as a member of the undead, Z also finds that their ability to use witchcraft has begun todecay along with the rest of their body. Faced with rejection from their remaining family members and old friends, Z moves in with an elderly witch named Mrs. Dunnigan, and befriends a loud would-be-goth classmate (and fellow loner) Aysel. While Z struggles to repair the broken magical seal holding their body together, Aysel fears that her classmates will discover her status as an unregistered werewolf. Then a local psychiatrist is murdered, and the primary culprit is a pack of werewolves. In the ensuing investigation, the small town of Salem, Oregon becomes even more hostile to these so-called monsters.
Driven together by circumstance, Z and Aysel fight to survive in a place where most people wish that neither of them existed, and make it to the 10th grade.
“Tension burns hot until the explosive conclusion, which begs for a sequel. On fire with magic and revolution.” —Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)
“Schrieve’s queer vision of a monster-infested ‘90s is rich in metaphor and rife with meaning.” —Kyle Lukoff, librarian and author of When Aidan Became A Brother
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
HAL SCHRIEVE grew up in Olympia, Washington, and is competent at making risotto and setting up a tent. Xie has worked as an after-school group leader, a summer camp counselor, a flower seller, a tutor, a grocer, and a babysitter. Hir current ambition is to become a librarian. Xie has a BA in history with a minor in English from University of Washington and studies library science at Queens College, New York. Xie lives in Brooklyn, New York, and hir poetry has appeared in Vetch magazine. This is hir first novel.
