Unhallowed Halls

An American teenager joins an exclusive boarding school hidden deep in the Scottish countryside. New friendships blossom, but not everything is as it appears...

Drawing on ancient Gaelic myth, this compulsively readable dark academia fantasy is full of twists, turns and heartstopping betrayals, perfect for fans of Ninth House and The Atlas Six.

Page Whittaker has always been an outcast. And after the deadly incident that destroyed her single friendship at her old school, she needs a fresh start. When she receives a scholarship offer from Agathion College, an elite boarding school folded deep within the moors of Scotland, she doesn’t even consider turning it down.

Agathion is everything Page has ever wanted: a safe haven full of dusty books, steaming cups of tea and rigorous intellectual debate. For the first time in her life, Page has almost managed to make a close group of friends. Cyrus, Ren, Gideon, Lacey and Oak help her feel at home in Agathion's halls—the only problem is, they're all keeping secrets from her.

It seems Page’s perfect new school has dark roots—roots that stretch back to its crooked foundation, and an ancient clandestine society. Page quickly learns that not everyone at Agathion is who they say they are.

Least of all her new friends.

Review

Dark magic and strange and ancient secrets unfurl in this stunning foray whose skillful plotting is reminiscent of Donna Tart's The Secret History. Painterly descriptions of a rainy gothic atmosphere punctuated by suspense, horror, and humor as experienced by a dynamic and intersectionally diverse found-family cast feel at once as classic as its inspirations, and as an invigorating reinvention of the genre.
--Publisher's Weekly starred review

Wilkinson lavishly renders the setting through descriptive prose that revels in the school's decaying decadence. In constantly rising action that builds to increasingly fantastical and dramatic reveals, Page uncovers impossible magics, deep-rooted conspiracies, and lethal stakes. The world-breaking, bittersweet climax comes at a high cost... Moody, gripping dark academia steeped in magic.
--Kirkus starred review

Praise for A Hunger of Thorns

The luscious depth of the worldbuilding and the effortless skill with which it is conveyed make me utterly jealous. Read this, and wonder where Lili Wilkinson has been all your life.
--Amie Kaufman, New York Times bestselling coauthor of the Aurora Cycle

A gorgeous dark fantasy about the unshakeable bond between two girls, and the undeniable power of female rage.
--Kass Morgan, New York Times bestselling author of The 100

A lush, spellbinding tale with dangerously enchanting characters, A Hunger of Thorns is filled with gorgeous emotion and sapphic yearning that will leave you breathless. Wilkinson's masterful new story soars. This is one for all the wild girls who get lost in fairy tales.
--C. S. Pacat, New York Times bestselling author of Dark Rise

This is my kind of fairy tale: visceral and dark, lush and lovely, and filled with feral girls who know how to save themselves. A Hunger of Thorns is a beautiful, ferocious vine that will work its way inside you and linger. I'll be thinking about it for a long time to come.
--Kate J. Armstrong, author of Nightbirds

Readers who prefer stories with rich characters will effortlessly lose themselves in this ambitious, lyrical fairy tale.
--Booklist

About the Author

Lili Wilkinson is the author of over a dozen books for children and young adults, including the YA novels The Boundless Sublime, After the Lights Go Out, and The Erasure Initiative. Her latest YA novels, A Hunger of Thorns and Deep is the Fen, were published by Delacorte in Spring 2023 and 2024, respectively. As L.M. Wilkinson, she is the author of Bravepaw and the Heartstone of Alluria, the first in a new middle grade series illustrated by Lavanya Naidu. She helped establish InsideADog.com.au and The Inky Awards — Australia’s first national teen choice award — at the State Library of Victoria’s Centre for Youth Literature. She received her PhD in Creative Writing from the University of Melbourne, and lives in Melbourne with her husband and son.