The Harrow Home for Wayward Girls, Jessica Spotswood
The Harrow Home for Wayward Girls, Jessica Spotswood
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The Harrow Home for Wayward Girls

Author: Jessica Spotswood

Narrator: Gail Shalan, Mia Hutchinson-Shaw

Unabridged: 10 hr 59 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 08/25/2026


Synopsis

"An immensely satisfying, shivery tale of vengeance.”—Nova Ren Suma, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Walls Around Us and Wake the Wild Creatures

"Darkly atmospheric and impossible to put down."–Shea Earnshaw, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Wicked Deep

★ "A complex and haunting tale that makes room for hope and optimism."—Publisher's Weekly, starred review

In this gothic historical tale, two girls must uncover the secrets of their haunted home before it's too late.

THE HARROW HOME FOR WAYWARD GIRLS has long stood as a place of secrets. The estate has housed hundreds of young women hidden away during their pregnancies, their homesick cries echoing through the halls, providing a haunting score to Grace Harrow’s childhood.

Now, in the summer of 1947, the Home has been sold to a wealthy hotelier. Grace expects the new owner's daughters to be spoiled. Yet Rose, the eldest daughter—unaware of Mr. Harrow's abusive tendencies—is jealous of Grace's seemingly easy confidence. But as they’re drawn into each other's lives, an unlikely friendship begins to form. Fortunately so, because not all of the wayward girls made it out...

One still lingers. Lurking in the shadows. Looking for vengeance.

To expose the truth buried in the walls of the Harrow Home, Grace and Rose must unravel a legacy of silence and cruelty. But Grace’s father will stop at nothing to keep the past hidden, and if the truth comes to light, it could destroy both their families.

A Macmillan Audio production from Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)

About Jessica Spotswood

Jessica Spotswood is the internationally-bestselling author of Great or Nothing and YA fantasy trilogy The Cahill Witch Chronicles. She is the editor of the feminist anthologies A Tyranny of Petticoats and The Radical Element, and co-editor of Toil & Trouble. Jess’s books have been included on the ALA’s Rainbow and Rise lists and chosen as Junior Library Guild selections. She lives in Washington, DC, with her husband, mystery author Stephen Spotswood, and she works at the DC Public Library.

About Gail Shalan

Gail Shalan (she/her) is a New York City-based storyteller on screen, stage, behind the mic, and with puppets.A 2024 two-time Audie Award winner (Best Young Adult and Best Middle Grade), as well as a multiple Earphones Award winner, praised by The New York Times, Library Journal, Vulture Magazine, Booklist, and Audiofile, she’s narrated 200+ titles.Gail has performed on stage at The Bristol Old Vic, Cherry Lane Theatre, St. Ann’s Warehouse, and other various theater spaces across the US and UK.Her work as both an actor and a puppeteer was featured in the award-winning short film Coyote Girl (BostonIFF Best Short).Known for her dexterity with character and dialects, her tangibly emotional reads, and her deep respect for the text, Gail is passionate about stories that center generational healing and mental health, that navigate the sticky spaces between childhood and adulthood, and stories that ask who am “I”? Who are “we”? And what swells in the space between us, what dwells in the space within us? For that’s where the greatest discoveries and curiosities lie.

About Mia Hutchinson-Shaw

Mia Hutchinson-Shaw (she/her) performs across Audiobooks, Stage, and Screen. She has narrated 100+ books and voiced stories featured as New York Times, USA Today, and Indie Booksellers Bestsellers. She is a Booklist Editors' Choice Award Winner. She has also been recognized by The School Library Journal, Apple Books Must Listen, BookRiot, Vulture, and AudioFile.At the heart of her work is a love for character driven debauchery and nuance, setting as character, and a dry bent of comedy. From satirical lit fic, to queer coming of age YA, to sunshine girls fighting inner (or actual) demons, she champions themes of resilience, discovery, and awe.Trained at Interlochen Arts Academy (Theater) and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (BFA Acting) she brings a zealous and rigorous love of language and accents to her work.Having called the seashore of Massachusetts, the rockies of Montana, the sand dunes of Michigan, and the friendly streets of Glasgow all home, she now resides in NYC. She is always on the look out for a good walk, big vista, and an excellent thrift store.


Reviews

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Quotes

★ "Perceptive, unwavering prose portrays societal expectations in post-WWII America surrounding gender roles, bodily autonomy, and emotional and physical abuse, with candid nuance. . . . This searing novel considers how friendship empowers women and facilitates moments of resistance . . . a complex and haunting tale that makes room for hope and optimism."—Publisher's Weekly, starred review

“The girls are magnetic and justifiably angry in this ferocious gothic mystery with a searing feminist edge. Vivid, gutsy, and filled with hairpin turns and startling secrets, The Harrow Home for Wayward Girls is an immensely satisfying, shivery tale of vengeance.” —Nova Ren Suma, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Walls Around Us and Wake the Wild Creatures

"Darkly atmospheric and impossible to put down, The Harrow Home for Wayward Girls is a haunting tale of secrets, restless spirits, and the fragile bonds between girls determined to survive it all. Jessica Spotswood has written a story that grows more unsettling, and more irresistible, with every page.” —Shea Earnshaw, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Wicked Deep

"A haunting, slowly building mystery that finds horror not in what is seen but in what cannot be escaped."—Kirkus

"
A reflection on the complexities of girlhood is made both profound and chilling in a layered, atmospheric narrative that shifts between the two girls as they wrestle with ghostly threats and true, corporeal violence... The yearning to be desired and the inherent vulnerability that comes with attraction and lust is explored with a deft, compassionate hand" —BCCB

"This dark and twisty historical fiction weaves threads of feminism, magical realism, and coming-of-age into a taut mystery with strong female leads and spine-tingling thrills." —School Library Journal