CLICK HERE FOR AN AUDIOBOOK COPY 

Join us for an in-person *Thrill Seekers* Book Club Discussion for The Children by Melissa Albert on Saturday, October 17th from 6-8 pm at October Cafe in Norwood Park!

PRE-READING IS RECOMMENDED FOR THIS EVENT…

Local Book Lovers will gather to discuss The Children by Melissa Albert with our *Thrill Seekers* Book Club Group at October Cafe in Norwood Park (6046 N Avondale), where they can also opt to taste some themed bites + bevys inspired by the characters, plots and settings of the story. Guests will get a FREE TAKE-AWAY GIFT + EXCLUSIVE DISCOUNTS FROM OUR BOOKTIQUE!

With each Book Club sign up, you can choose to receive a physical copy of the featured book(s) to read before we meet in-person (CLICK THE CHECKBOX(ES) TO ADD A COPY OF THE BOOK(S) TO YOUR ORDER), decide to download an audiobook from the link below before the event, OR opt to grab your book(s) from the library / share your book(s) with a friend.

NOTE: EACH $15 TICKET PURCHASED ABOVE INCLUDES THE BOOK DISCUSSION, A SPECIAL TREAT FROM OUR BOOKTIQUE & VIRTUAL COUPON FOR SHOPPING. BOOK CLUB ATTENDEES CAN OPT TO PAY FOR ANY *OPTIONAL* ADDITIONAL FOOD/DRINKS THE NIGHT OF THE EVENT!

BOOK SYNOPSIS

An intoxicating, haunting new novel from New York Times bestselling author Melissa Albert, in which the estranged adult children of a legendary author, written into their dead mother’s beloved fantasy series, contend with the vine-like creep of legacy, memory, and magic...

Guinevere Sharpe has two childhoods.

In one, she and her brother, Ennis, live in the wooded shadow of their family's isolated Vermont farmhouse; in the other, the pages of their mother’s world-famous Ninth City books, where their magical adventures have made them household names. In reality, Guinevere's childhood isn't the enchanted idyll her mother’s readers imagine: she and Ennis are growing up near-feral, unwashed and underfed, escaping each day to the wild woods they’ve made their playland. As Edith Sharpe’s books explode into epic popularity, the threats of a rural childhood give way to the escalating perils of fame - until the night it all goes up in flames, leaving Edith’s series unfinished and her children the sole survivors.

Now an adult coasting on her mother's name, Guinevere is mid-promotion for a ghostwritten memoir when her estranged brother, an artist who has until now spurned his family's legacy, announces an upcoming installation titled Mother. As rumors swirl around a death connected to his last show, unsettling recollections from Guinevere’s childhood begin to surface. Her public facade starts to crack, forcing her to confront the questions she's spent the last twenty years running from: What really happened the night of the fire? And what dark history lies behind their mother’s fantasy world?

Wise to the mythic weight childhood memories gather over time, The Children whispers to you from the hallway outside your bedroom, lights flickering as you turn the pages of a book that didn't seem so scary a moment ago. It's a story for anyone who's ever revisited an old favorite and found it cast in a darker light, the line separating magic and memory blurring as the gap widens between the authors we imagine and the people they turn out to be.

RECOMMENDED FOR: Grown-Ups

OUR BOOKS ARE LISTED BY AGE GROUP to indicate that the content is engaging and appropriate for those selected ages. PLEASE NOTE: They may not be the appropriate reading level for every individual at those ages or may extend beyond the brackets.

ADDITIONAL DETAILS:

Publisher: William Morrow

Publish Date: June 02, 2026

Pages: 416

Dimensions: 9.1 X 6.1 X 1.5 inches | 1.2 pounds

Language: English

Type: Hardcover

Condition: NEW

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