Hollow: An autistic teen is entangled in a secretive community of outcasts in this eerie YA cult horror full of twists and turns that you’ll want to read with the lights on

Don’t Let the Forest In meets The Whispering Dark in a queer YA cult horror following a recently diagnosed autistic teen who becomes enmeshed in a community of outcasts harboring sinister secrets.

“One of the best horror novels of the year, full stop. Haunting, heartfelt, and downright creepy.” —Kamilah Cole, bestselling author of So Let Them Burn

When Cassie Davis returns to her hometown in upstate New York, eager to mask her autism diagnosis from her old friends, tensions rise. On a backpacking trip to celebrate her homecoming, Cassie wakes to an abandoned campsite and discovers an off-the-grid compound called the Roost. Here she finds an enigmatic boy named Kaleb who makes Cassie feel, for the first time, as if she truly belongs. But at what price?

In a world where autistic characters rarely get to be the hero of their own stories, Cassie Davis’s one-step-back, two-steps-forward journey to unmasking makes Hollow as much a love letter to neurodiversity as it is a haunting tale you’ll want to read with the lights on.

Read if You Love:

* Don''t Go in the Woods
* Deadly Road Trips
* CottageGORE
* Malevolent Masks
* Cults
* Nerd-core
* Wound-tending
* First Love

Drawing on the creepiest elements of the very best survival and folk horror, this atmospheric queer YA cult thriller, full of mystery and secrets, is perfect for fans of Don’t Let the Forest In, House of Hollow, Wilder Girls and Midsommar. When Cassie Davis returns to her hometown in upstate New York, she’s eager to mask her new autism diagnosis from her old friends. The group take a backpacking trip together to Hollow Ridge to celebrate her homecoming, but after the first night, Cassie wakes to an abandoned campsite – her friends all gone. With severe weather approaching, and nearing sensory overload, Cassie meets a boy named Kaleb, who leads her to safety, to a place he calls The Roost – an off-the-grid compound lived in by a group of artists and outcasts. There, with Kaleb, Cassie begins to feel, for the first time in her life, that she can truly be herself. But as the days pass, strange things start happening. Crows surround them, there are odd noises... But are the dangers in the eerie forest that surrounds them, or inside the Roost itself?"One of the best horror novels of the year, full stop. Haunting, heartfelt, and downright creepy" – Kamilah Cole, author of So Let Them Burn Read if You Love: * Don't Go in the Woods * Deadly Road Trips * CottageGORE * Malevolent Masks * Cults * Nerd-core * Wound-tending * First Love

• | Author: Taylor Grothe
• | Publisher: Walker Books Ltd
• | Publication Date: Oct 09, 2025
• | Number of Pages:
• | Language:
• | Binding: Paperback / softback
• | ISBN-13: 9781529533194
• | ISBN-10: 1529533198