The Children

by Melissa Albert ★★★★☆

Guinevere Sharpe and her older brother Ennis grew up in the forests of Vermont, the children of one of the world's most famous authors, Edith Sharpe, who penned the beloved children's book series the Ninth City. The siblings are also the namesake and inspiration for the series' heroes, a pair of children who find their way into another world, like so many Narnias and Neverlands before them.

While their fictional selves were having adventures adored by children the world over, Guinevere's and Ennis's childhood was less than idyllic. Their relocation from New York— first to Venice for year, before ultimately landing in remote Vermont—left them wildlings for much of their youth. The bohemian lifestyle of their parents exposed them to drugs and sex and partying at a too-young age, and they came to rely on each other as the primary source for love and acknowledgement during their unusual upbringing.

To add to the complexity, the Vermont home in which they lived had its own strange collection of conditions. It wasn't fully haunted, per se...but things were not always as they seemed they should be, and there was an undercurrent of magic and the supernatural that seemed to exist. It added an additional layer of strangeness to an already unique and somewhat traumatic childhood.

The Children explores the siblings' relationship through a dual-timeline narrative that bounces between their childhood in Vermont and the present day. Guin has released a memoir that paints a far rosier picture of their upbringing than reality; Ennis is a famous and reclusive artist. After being inseparable for their entire upbringing, the pair are estranged in the present and haven't spoken in twenty years. In each timeline we count down to a seminal event: the house fire that orphaned the children when they were just 11 and 13, and Ennis's latest art installation—dubbed "Mother"—which is set to drop in Brooklyn in five days' time. As Guin is forced to confront her past, she becomes increasingly shaky in her own contrived reality, and a confrontation with her brother is the only anecdote for her condition. "I remember plenty. But I'm starting to think there are things I don't know. I was a kid, and sometimes I had these—suspicions. That felt, not possible. And I'm having them again."

It's a challenging book to categorize. It's mostly an exploration of family dynamics and relationships, but there is some underlying mystery as well as elements of fantasy, horror, and the supernatural sprinkled throughout. It's rooted in reality, but with only a thin veil separating the natural world from other realms, and it takes on a minor fairy tale quality as a result. It's acts as an homage to a long history of portal fantasies in children's literature while also feeling wholly unique. Interestingly, it reminded me in more than a few ways of the unusual yet excellent Thistlefoot by Gennarose Nethercott, an impossible-to-characterize story of a pair of adult siblings reconciling a most unusual childhood.

I liked The Children quite a bit. It checked most boxes I'd look for when doling out 5 stars—excellent writing, an interesting and unique plot, tension and pace. The only thing missing was was that magical draw that has me racing to pick some books back up as soon as I can. It didn't dominate my thoughts during non-reading time, and so it lands as a high 4-star read for me (which, after I let in sink in for a bit, may just be upgraded to a 5). This is something different worth checking out.

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Quick Facts

• Title: The Children

• Author: Melissa Albert

• Publisher: William Morrow

• Release Date: June 2, 2026

• Format: Ebook

• ISBN-13: 978-0063487413

• Pages: 416