A Room Away from the Wolves

July 16, 2018
When Sabina “Bina” Tremper, 17, is asked to leave the home she shares with her mother and stepfamily, she knows just what to do: she heads to Catherine House in Manhattan’s West Village, the women’s residence that her mother once called home for two glorious months. Named for Catherine de Barra, a young woman who leapt to her death from the home’s rooftop more than 100 years ago, the home serves as a refuge for young women. But it also seems to bind them to the home through a set of archaic rules and pledges. When Bina befriends her neighbor Monet Mathis, who seems to know more about the strange house than she lets on, Bina begins to piece together her mother’s past—and that of Catherine House itself. Suma (The Walls Around Us) poetically spins this riveting tale, part ghost story, part Bildungsroman, which may require a second reading for those not paying close attention as the story unfolds. As Monet says, “If you’re supposed to be somewhere, you’ll find it. If you’re not, you’ll walk right by and miss it.” Ages 14–up. Agent: Michael Bourret, Dystel, Goderich and Bourret.