Haints

"e;Haints"e; is a fantastical novel that tells the story of the Whitts, a shamanistic Appalachian family, each with their own special talent, tied to their farm since time immemorial. They live a life of uneasy truce with the surrounding community. For generations, the family has been tasked with protecting the world from the threat of haints-spirits drawn to feast on the bright, delicious lure of human emotion. When the haints are called out again, the entire Whitt family must find a new weapon to restore the precarious push and pull of light and dark. The ancestral spirits, bursting from their slumber as butterflies, lead the valley in a spirit walk, where the Whitt family must find the ultimate weapon against despair. But first, the Whitts will have to conquer their own doubts and fears. When Vola Whitt meets the new neighbor girl, she regrets trying to kindle a friendship. Lily Watson is dramatic and plain irritating. But once Vola's true nature is revealed, it doesn't take long for Lily to drop her pretenses. Lily finds herself looking at life in a new light, in the embrace of the earthy Whitts' family farm. But there is danger lurking, trapped beneath the verdant hay fields and lovely woods, and the girls, and everyone they love, will soon find themselves fighting for their lives-and for each other. Granny falls sick and the haints begin to rise, taking advantage of a weakness in the boundaries. When haint-infested Boyd Byrne takes Lily, Vola is torn between the overwhelming prospect of losing her beloved Granny, the wonder and enormity of learning what the Whitts really are, and the frightening task before her: to save her dearest friend. Each of the Whitts must embrace their talents-their shine-to find the truth. Since the beginning of memory, Whitt warriors have killed the haint-infected to kill the haint, but there was always more to the story.