Winterkill

Emmeline knows she's not supposed to explore the woods outside her settlement. The enemy that wiped out half her people lurks there, attacking at night and keeping them isolated in an unfamiliar land with merciless winters. Living with the shame of her grandmother's insubordination, Emmeline has learned to keep her head down and her quick tongue silent. When the settlement leader asks for her hand in marriage, it's an opportunity for Emmeline to wash the family slate clean-even if she has eyes for another. But before she's forced into an impossible decision, her dreams urge her into the woods, where she uncovers a path she can't help but follow. The trail leads to a secret that someone in the village will kill to protect. Her grandmother followed the same path and paid the price. If Emmeline isn't careful, she will be next.

"A philosophical, ruminative adventure for fans of the CW network's "The 100" from the award-winning author of Winterkill and Heartfire" (Kirkus Reviews). For as long as Emmeline can remember, she's longed to leave the isolated world of the settlement and explore the wilderness that calls to her in her dreams. And now that the Council has fallen, she will finally, finally get that chance. With First Peoples guide Matisa at her side, Emmeline rallies a brave group to join her on her quest into the unknown, including her beloved Kane and his two younger brothers. But the journey soon proves far more dangerous than Emmeline anticipated―with warring clans, slavers, colonists, disease, and natural disasters seemingly at every turn. After putting so many lives in danger, she starts to doubt everything she once knew. Did she make the right choice to leave the settlement―and can her relationship with Kane survive the ordeal? Matisa insists that to set things right and to fight the evil that is bringing all this danger and turmoil to the forest, Emmeline must journey to Matisa's people―even if that means leaving Kane behind.

Intrepid young travelers reach their destination in time to face a perilous battle in the thrilling conclusion to this acclaimed YA trilogy. Emmeline and Matisa have arrived at the land of Matisa's people, but the Dominion's troops are moving in. Matisa's people have prepared for battle, but the Dominion's weapons are brutal. To secure their survival, they will need something so important the Dominion will have to leave them in peace. Matisa and Em think they know what they need: the remedy to the Bleed, a deadly sickness. To find it, Em will have to go back to the stifling settlement she'd spent her whole life trying to escape. But she's no longer the Stained girl she once was―and she's not going down without a fight. Heartfire concludes the acclaimed Winterkill trilogy, which includes the novels Winterkill and Darkthaw.