PREVIEW: THE HARROWING by Acclaimed Artist Rye Hickman and Graphic Novel Debut Writer Kristen Kiesling

“You will shiver in fear and delight. You will want to be held and to hold."—Kieron Gillen

This spring, Abrams Fanfare will publish the genre-bending graphic novel thriller THE HARROWING by illustrator Rye Hickman and writer Kristen Kiesling, who is making her comics writing debut. Stylish, surprising, suspenseful, and unsettling, the book follows a psychic teen who hunts potential killers… until she discovers the boy she loves is her next target. THE HARROWING will be published on April 16, 2024.

On the very day that 17-year-old Rowan Sterling almost, nearly, finally, kisses her longtime best friend and secret crush, Lucas, she makes a surprising (and quite unwelcome) discovery. Rowan should be worrying about normal teenage things like attending college and whether Lucas is maybe more than a friend after all. But Rowan Sterling is gifted and she’s having terrifying visions of blood and violence. As her premonitions increase in number and intensity, Rowan seeks her father’s help, but instead finds herself drugged, kidnapped, and sent to a mysterious facility called Rosewood. And it isn’t long before Rowan discovers that it isn’t a boarding school or an asylum: it’s a training center for teens with special abilities who are known as Harrows. Rowan is a Harrow, a seer of death, and her world has forever changed.

“Harrows can view the actions of would-be murderers before they commit crimes, and the scientists at Rosewood believe it is their duty to use the Harrows’ powers to make the world a safer place,” said Kiesling. “Rowan is immediately drawn to Rosewood’s mission. After all, she lost her mother to a random act of violence two years prior. However, some of the other Harrows question the treatment of imcrims. How can it be ethical to imprison people who haven’t actually done anything yet?”

Empowered by the skills she’s acquired and ready to change the world, Rowan returns home, but when she reunites with Lucas, she has a vision of him shooting a man in cold blood. Now Rowan is questioning everything she learned at Rosewood—she refuses to believe Lucas is capable of murder—and sets out to protect him from the Harrows.

"Whether or not the ends justify the means is the fraught question at the heart of Rosewood,” said Rye Hickman. “Rowan is a good-hearted and passionate teen whose desire to help make the world a better place leaves her open to manipulation, and whose horrifying psychic powers mean she really can change the world for the better. "

Here’s what people are saying about THE HARROWING

"THE HARROWING will give you death, destiny, defiance and most of all love. You will shiver in fear and delight. You will want to be held and to hold."

—Kieron Gillen, The Wicked + the Divine, Young Avengers

“Ominous… [and] visceral.”

—Publishers Weekly

"Minority Report reframed as if through the eyes of Stephen King, Kiesling and Hickman have created a real page-turner that asks tough questions of fate and morality. A complex and pulse-pounding debut that should be read widely."—Samuel Sattin, author of Buzzing

"An original, genre-blending graphic novel."

—Kirkus Reviews

"I read The Harrowing in one sitting — it's that good. It kept me up long after I turned the final page, pondering big questions -- namely, how far would I go to protect the ones I love."

—Max Brallier, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Kids on Earth

"Kiesling makes excellent use of smooth, engaging, and natural-feeling dialogue to provide...world-building, and the heavy, shadowy illustrations do much of the rest."

—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"A wonderful mix of creepy crawly paranoia with a pinch of horror, Kiesling and Hickman have created something special that will keep you looking over your shoulder for days after reading."

—Marco Finnegan, illustrator of The Keeper

"The Harrowing is a story for fans of the morbidly supernatural. Kristen Kiesling's story is brought to life by Rye Hickman's stylish art in a world of grey and red that will feed your inner goth."

—Daniel McCloskey, creator of Cloud Town

Abrams Fanfare will publish THE HARROWING on April 16, 2024.