Silent as the Grave

by Zoe Aarsen

  Henry and I kept visits with his parents to a minimum, often insisting that they come to our home in Madison instead of having us over to theirs in Willow because returning to our hometown took an emotional toll on both of us. When we had no choice but to go there, we drove miles out of our way to enter town from the south to avoid driving past Martha Road.

  However, I often returned to Willow in my sleep. When I woke up from vivid dreams about the freshly mowed front lawns of Martha Road, about fires consuming one-story ranch houses and the silhouettes of little girls in front windows, about beautiful boys in moonlit backyards, and of dangerously pretty girls wearing lockets, I calmed myself down and reminded myself that I was in the present, in Madison, with Henry. I was safe.

  Autumn was almost unbearably nostalgic for me. The smell of fires in fireplaces, the rich orange and red shades of leaves, and the laughter of teenage girls I’d sometimes overhear when walking around town always brought my thoughts back to Willow. After all, it was the town where I’d escaped from death, the town where the bones of my twin sister, my true love, and the friends I couldn’t save were buried and would remain forever.

  Although I often scanned the radio dial hoping to hear Jennie’s voice, I was never able to find it again. But I often sensed her presence, and knew that she was the reason why I was able to both feel the sentiments of animals and receive messages from souls on the other side with such ease.

  And I never stopped listening for her.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  My heartfelt thanks go to my editor, Jessi Smith, for her guidance in taking the characters in this trilogy to the end of their respective journeys. Thank you so much for helping me refine my vision for this story so that the stakes were always being raised for McKenna in her efforts to save her friends. Because of your encouragement and ability to identify areas where my characters needed further development, Willow, Wisconsin, will always be a cherished destination in my memories of these last few years.

  For everyone at Simon Pulse, thank you so much for investing your time and talents in this story. And very special thanks to the art direction team at Simon Pulse and illustrator Avery Muether for creating book covers more perfect than I ever could have imagined.

  For the team at Wattpad, my deep gratitude for helping me establish a readership and for recruiting the original fans of McKenna, Trey, Henry, and Mischa.

  Thank you to all my friends who have been supportive of the creation of these books since the very beginning: Chiraag Bhakta, Kelly Anne Blount, Pen Densham, Elizabeth Bales Frank, Greg Greenberg, Kerry Hallihan, Eugene Hwang, Julie Noiman, Sherry Park, Lauren Puglia, Julie Trelstad, and so very many more.

  For my friend—the brilliant YA author Robin Epstein—thank you so much for the brainstorms and the pep talks!

  I wrote the first page of the first book quite a long time ago, never imagining back then how drastically my life would change by the time I wrote the epilogue for the third book. I wish I could personally thank every reader who has taken the literary journey to Willow and played Light as a Feather along with the guests at Olivia’s birthday party. It has been quite an adventure, and I am so glad you could all join me.

  More from this Series

  Light as a Feather

  Book 1

  Cold as Marble

  Book 2

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Photo by Mark Lee

  ZOE AARSEN is a graphic designer and copywriter originally from the Midwest. She is pretty convinced that her apartment is haunted by the ghosts of every cat and hamster she’ s ever owned. Visit Zoe Aarsen’ s blog at zoeaarsen.com. Follow Zoe on Twitter @ZoeAarsen.

  Visit us at simonandschuster.com/teen

  www.SimonandSchuster.com/Authors/Zoe-Aarsen

  Simon Pulse

  Simon & Schuster, New York

  ALSO BY ZOE AARSEN

  Light as a Feather

  Cold as Marble

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  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  SIMON PULSE

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  First Simon Pulse edition September 2020

  Text copyright © 2020 by Zoe Aarsen

  The author is represented by Wattpad.

  Cover illustration copyright © 2020 by Avery Muether

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  Cover designed by Laura Eckes

  Interior designed by Mike Rosamilia

  Jacket designed by Laura Eckes

  Jacket illustration copyright © 2020 by Avery Muether

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: Aarsen, Zoe, author.

  Title: Silent as the grave / by Zoe Aarsen.

  Description: First Simon Pulse paperback edition. | New York : Simon Pulse, 2020. | Series: [Light as a feather ; 3] | Summary: “McKenna has managed to rid Violet of the curse claiming the lives of so many in Willow, Wisconsin, but evil still plagues the town. McKenna’s friend Mischa now carries the curse, and when it comes for her family, she pledges revenge on those she deems responsible for their deaths… including McKenna and everyone she holds dear”—Provided by publisher.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2020020698 (print) | LCCN 2020020699 (eBook) | ISBN 9781534444348 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781534444331 (paperback) | ISBN 9781534444355 (eBook)

  Classification: LCC PZ7.1.A145 Sil 2020 (print) | LCC PZ7.1.A145 (eBook) | DDC [Fic]—dc23

  LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020020698

  LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020020699