Synopsis
After losing her job with the US Forestry Service, Celeste Foster makes a desperate gamble. She answers an ad for a job in rural Virginia, but doesn’t anticipate sliding into an alternate version of the Appalachian mountains.
Before Celeste understands what’s happening, she’s agreed to hike up a cursed mountain to save a town from complete annihilation. And in the days leading up to the ritual, she learns that gods and monsters live alongside humans in the Valley. Here magic runs in every family and her connection to the Valley runs deep.
Armed with a bag of ritual items, a recording, and the hopes of the pretty barista who helped her, Celeste starts up Bloom Mountain. The ritual will test Celeste to her core, and push her autistic boundaries to their fullest.
Content Warnings
autistic shutdowns, meltdowns, overstimulation; vomiting; drowning; death: of children, of animals (both off-page); alcohol use; swearing; family traumas; family secrets;mental and emotional manipulation; body horror; illness: cancer, unspecified wasting illness