The Children

by Melissa Albert

The Children is Melissa Albert's first adult novel, a gothic‑tinged, magical‑realist thriller that follows Guinevere Sharpe, the estranged adult daughter of a legendary children’s author. Raised in a remote Vermont farmhouse while her mother Edith’s wildly popular Ninth City series turned her childhood into a public myth, Guinevere now co‑opts her mother’s legacy in a ghost‑written memoir. When her brother Ennis, a reclusive artist, announces a haunting installation titled Mother, long‑buried memories of a fire that destroyed their home and unfinished books resurface. The novel weaves together family legacy, fame, trauma, and a creeping supernatural presence, asking what lies behind the stories we inherit.