Listen to
Your Sister
A Debut Novel
By turns hilarious and terrifying, Listen To Your Sister is a surprising, big-hearted tale of speculative horror about the nightmares that haunt us and the family bonds that hold us together, for those who love Jordan Peele’s films, Stranger Things, and The Other Black Girl.
Twenty-five year old Calla Williams is struggling since becoming guardian to her brother, Jamie. Calla is overwhelmed and tired of being the one who makes sacrifices to keep the family together. Jamie, full of good-natured sixteen-year-old recklessness, is usually off fighting for what matters to him or getting into mischief, often at the same time. Dre, their brother, promised he would help raise Jamie–but now the ink is dry on the paperwork and in classic middle-child fashion, he’s off doing his own thing. And through it all, The Nightmare never stops haunting Calla: recurring images of her brothers dying that she is powerless to Stop.
When Jamie’s actions at a protest spiral out of control, the siblings must go on the run. Taking refuge in a remote cabin that looks like it belongs on a slasher movie poster rather than an AirBNB, the siblings now face a new threat where their lives–and reality–hang in the balance.
Their sister warned them about her nightmares. They should have listened.
“Wonderfully Weird and Inventive.
Viel’s tale of Siblings‘ love and struggle in modern America is as affecting as it is thought-provoking.”
—T.L. HUCHU, USA Today bestselling author of The Library of the Dead
“Heartbreaking yet Wickedly Funny.
As creepily atmospheric as a Stephen Graham Jones novel, as knife-sharp in its oberservations about race as the best of Jordan Peele, and gorgeously written, Listen to Your Sister captures the soul-fracturing love of siblings growing up in a world that often feels like a horror show. WHAT A KNOCKOUT DEBUT.”
—ASHLEY WINSTEAD, author of Midnight Is the Darkest Hour
“Incredibly Original and Seriously Scary.
In this unsettling and eye-opening tale…Neena Viel addresses the horrors of racism, poverty, abandonment, and substance abuse while making you consider how much of yourself you’d sacrifice to save someone you love.”
—NICK MEDINA, author Sisters of the Lost Nation