New from the author of Dead Girls Walking comes a YA horror about a girl kidnapped by a racist cult after investigating the supernatural happenings at her sister’s gravesite
A month ago, Junie Daniels was in a car crash that left her with a dead sister, fragmented memories of the accident, and a mother too checked-out to plan a funeral. The cheapest grave plot Junie can find is in the next town over. Sure, Williamsville is still proudly named after a slave master who was rumored to dabble in dark magic—but this North Carolina, after all.
When unexplained occurrences start happening at the graveyard, though, Junie and her best friend, Omari, investigate. And it’s not long before Junie and Omari are taken...
Williamsville wants both Daniels girls. But Junie will do anything to protect her sister—even if it's only her corpse.
Praise
“Funerals Are for the Living is a deeply authentic Black Southern Gothic, its humor, pluck, and heart jumping off the page. Ellis lovingly treads North Carolina’s sticky heat, restless ghosts, and complex generational history to craft a vivid narrative of grief, memory, and the deep-rooted bonds that hold family and community together.”
—Ryan Douglass, New York Times bestselling author of The Taking of Jake Livingston
“Sami Ellis is the hidden gem of YA, and Funerals Are For the Living is a masterclass in horror. This story, sinister and haunting, slips under your skin, burrows deep, and stays with you—as dark as it is witty and humorous at times, and with characters you can’t help but root for. I loved every single page of it.”
—Jamison Shea, author of I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast Is Me
“This haunting Southern Gothic, where the racism runs as deep as the grave loam, will get under your skin, but Ellis’s tender exploration of grief and Junie’s love for her sister will heal your heart.”
—Trish Lundy, author of The One That Got Away with Murder
