Strange Creatures: A Riveting Young Adult Fantasy About Family, Hope, and a Brother's Disappearance

From acclaimed author Phoebe North comes a riveting, unexpected, and beautiful coming of age and LGBTQ+ contemporary novel about a girl whose brother mysteriously disappears, the family and friends he leaves behind, and the stories—real and imagined—that they tell themselves to fill the empty space.

From the moment that Annie was born, she and her older brother, Jamie, were inseparable. Alike in almost every way, they promised to always take care of each other while facing the challenges of growing up different in suburban America. And when life became too much for them, they created their own space in the woods behind their house: a fantasy world tinged with magical realism, called Gumlea, where no one else could find them.

And it was enough, for a while. But then came middle school, when Jamie grew dark and distant. He found new friends, a girlfriend, and a life away from Annie and Gumlea. Soon it was as if she hardly knew the brother who was her other half.

And then, one day, he disappears.

Annie, her family, and the entire community are devastated. And as the days turn into months turn into years, everyone begins to accept that Jamie is gone for good. Everyone, that is, except Annie, who believes that Jamie, somehow, has entered Gumlea, and who believes that she’s the only one who can bring him back, leaving her to navigate her grief and loss alone.

But as Annie searches for answers to this YA mystery and finds a touching sapphic romance with a girl she did not expect, she makes startling discoveries about her brother’s disappearance—and has to decide how much of herself she’s willing to give up in order to keep hope alive.

What happens when the line between a shared fantasy world and devastating reality blurs completely?

• A Powerful Sibling Story: From the moment Annie was born, she and her older brother, Jamie, were inseparable. They promised to always take care of each other—a bond that nothing, not even time or distance, could truly break.
• A Haunting Disappearance: One day, Jamie vanishes without a trace, leaving his family and community devastated. As years pass, everyone gives up hope of finding him—except for Annie.
• Blurring Reality and Fantasy: Convinced her brother isn’t gone but has instead crossed over into Gumlea, the imaginary world they created as children, Annie believes she’s the only one who can bring him back.
• An Unexpected First Love: While searching for answers about her brother, Annie finds a new relationship with a girl she did not expect, forcing her to navigate new feelings amidst her grief.
• A Nuanced Exploration of Identity: A poignant story for older teens that touches on themes of becoming, self-discovery, and what it means to be whole, perfect for readers of character-driven contemporary fiction.

Phoebe North is the critically acclaimed author of the novels Starglass and Starbreak. They were a Sustainable Arts Foundation finalist, and their short fiction and critical work has appeared in Analog, Flash Fiction, the YA Review Network, Umbrella Journal, and Strange Horizons, among others. Phoebe lives in the Hudson Valley, where they enjoy gardening, spending time with their family, and listening to music on outdated audio formats. They can be found online at www.phoebenorth.com.