Beyond Where Lanterns Rise

Thirteen-year-old Lyra Aveline Reynolds has already lost more than most. Her father and sister are gone. Her mother, her final anchor, has just passed from cancer. Now orphaned and adrift, Lyra is placed in foster care and sent to a summer retreat deep in the Alberta wilderness. Willows Rise was meant to be temporary—a distraction. But something there begins to stir.

In the hush of the forest, beneath starlit skies and the glow of lanterns sent drifting across the lake, Lyra discovers more than just grief. Letters tucked away in old trunks. Faces from the past she’s never met. And a strange connection to the place that feels older than memory itself.

Struggling with undiagnosed autism and dyslexia, Lyra has always been on the outside looking in. But at Willows Rise, surrounded by imperfect friendships, aching silence, and quiet hope, she begins to uncover not only secrets about her family—but a spark of something long buried within herself.

A coming-of-age story wrapped in mystery, memory, and grace, Beyond Where Lanterns Rise is the powerful first step in a series that spans decades, tracing Lyra’s journey from a grieving girl to a mentor and foster parent in her own right. For readers who love emotional depth, lyrical storytelling, and the haunting beauty of healing, this book lights the way forward.

Seraphina King is a Canadian author and creative educator whose writing explores themes of healing, faith, neurodiversity, and found family. Through reflective storytelling, she brings to life emotionally rich journeys of resilience, loss, and quiet strength. When not writing, she works with youth. Her stories often draw inspiration from small-town life, childhood memories, and the power of light in dark places.