Never-Contented Things

Sarah Porter

Tor Publishing Group, Mar 19, 2019 - Young Adult Fiction - 352 pages

“Sarah Porter is a genius. Her language is lush and dangerous, and her books burn with the beautiful, ferocious intensity of a bonfire in the darkest night.”—Brittany Cavallaro, New York Times bestselling author of A Study in Charlotte

From critically-acclaimed author Sarah Porter comes Never-Contented Things: a standalone surreal young adult fantasy of teenagers ensorcelled into a wicked bargain with otherworldly beings...

Every moment of the night—
Forever changing places—
And they put out the star-light
With the breath from their pale faces...
—Edgar Allan Poe, “Fairy-Land”

Bound by haunting tragedies, Ksenia Adderley and Joshua Korensky have shared a home as foster siblings since they were children. Despite their opposite personalities—Ksenia is prickly, mistrustful, Josh, flamboyant and outgoing—they are fiercely protective of one another. As teens, they’ve grown even closer. Some say unnaturally so.

With Ksenia's eighteenth birthday approaching, their guardians expect her to move out. They want to free Josh of his obsession with the foster-sister whom they regard as a strange, unhealthy influence. But they don’t understand the depths of Josh’s feelings for Ksenia and how desperate he is to ensure they stay together—forever.

The one called Prince understands all too well. Attracted by the intensity of Josh’s desires and Ksenia’s fears, he can grant them a home among his kind: beautiful creatures not of this earth. All they have to do is surrender their very humanity and succumb to the cruel whims of Prince and his fae courtiers...

“A creepy new world like none I’ve seen before. Eerie, edgy and filled with mystery, Porter takes us to the depths of the magical and psychological.”—Danielle Paige, New York Times bestselling author of Dorothy Must Die

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Contents

• PartOne: 11
• What Was I Supposed to Do?: 23
• We Need to Be Happy While We Can: 36
• They Might Not Find Their Way Home Again: 47
• You Could Put It Like That: 54
• What a Little Savage You Once Were: 60
• Because We Werent Really Home Before: 68
• Tiny Sparkly Hands: 75
• It Was What We Had to Give: 83
• Do Tell: 92
• PartTwo: 101
• An Orchestra of Breaths and Bells: 116
• A Velvety Minuscule Death: 125
• Not a Single One of Them Reaches My Voice: 137
• Just Enough of the Truth: 149
• My Voice Becomes Vapor: 157
• Now Were All Living Under a Spell: 168
• joshua korensky: 175
• The Land of Not Too Late: 183
• You SendMe to Die?: 195
• What Is a Grave If Not a Doorway?: 202
• Please Dont Think This Is Me: 209
• As Any Artist Does: 215
• PartFour: 221
• Nothing Essential Is Safe: 232
• Minds Slap Shut Like Books: 239
• Even Dreams Consume: 245
• There Are Lies That Have Some Truth in Them: 251
• Nothing of Great Matter to Her: 261
• A Vast and Hollow Darkness: 267
• PartFive: 273
• PartSix: 279
• They Stole Me from Myself: 289
• They Didnt Make Everything: 295
• This Ground Im Lying On: 302
• My Version of Love: 308
• How Can Everything Become Nothing?: 329
• What Else Would I Do?: 343
• Whatever Heart You Can Make for Yourself: 359

About the author

Sarah Porter is a writer, artist, and freelance teacher who lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two cats. She is the author of the Lost Voices Trilogy (Lost Voices, Waking Storms, The Twice Lost) in addition to Vassa in the Night and When I Cast Your Shadow—all for the teen audience. She has an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from City College.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Never-Contented Things
• Author: Sarah Porter
• Publisher: Tor Publishing Group, 2019
• ISBN: 0765396750, 9780765396754
• Length: 352 pages
• Subjects: Young Adult Fiction / Family / Orphans & Foster Homes; Young Adult Fiction / Fantasy / Contemporary; Young Adult Fiction / Fantasy / Dark Fantasy; Young Adult Fiction / Horror