Praise for The Cure for Dreaming
“The story is infused with dramatic tension . . . and the tension is held until the end of the book.”
—VOYA Magazine (5Q review)
“[A] gripping, atmospheric story of mind control and self-determination.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Winters combines the history of women’s rights in the early 20th century with a spellbinding story of a young woman caught at a crossroads between family and self.”
—School Library Journal
“A wonderful book filled with humor, compassion and yes, anger . . . Winters creates a classic story of how a clever young girl can find her own way in the world. Jo March for the 21st century.”
—The Historical Novels Review
—Kirkus Reviews
“Winters combines the history of women’s rights in the early 20th century with a spellbinding story of a young woman caught at a crossroads between family and self.”
—School Library Journal
“Winters (In the Shadow of Blackbirds) creates a rich, gothic backdrop (further brought to life through period photographs and illustrations) for a story that will open many readers’ eyes to historical injustices inflicted on women—injustices with plenty of present-day parallels.”
—Publishers Weekly
“The metaphor of mass hypnosis as a means of keeping women 'in their place' is a potent one, and Winters’ ability to flex this metaphor in illuminating ways is a delight . . . Winters continues to be a refreshing, incisive talent with a unique perspective.”
—Booklist
“The metaphor of mass hypnosis as a means of keeping women 'in their place' is a potent one, and Winters’ ability to flex this metaphor in illuminating ways is a delight . . . Winters continues to be a refreshing, incisive talent with a unique perspective.”
—Booklist
“The Cure for Dreaming proves the potential, relevance, and importance of YA fiction. It’s entertaining, educational and mystical. YA naysayers may have just met their match.”
—Starburst Magazine“A wonderful book filled with humor, compassion and yes, anger . . . Winters creates a classic story of how a clever young girl can find her own way in the world. Jo March for the 21st century.”
—The Historical Novels Review
Praise for In the Shadow of Blackbirds
★ “Winters’s masterful debut novel is an impressively researched marriage of the tragedies of wartime, the 1918 flu epidemic, the contemporaneous Spiritualism craze, and a chilling love story and mystery...
Deliciously creepy.”
—Publishers Weekly, starred review
Deliciously creepy.”
—Publishers Weekly, starred review
★ “Unconventional and unflinching... More than anything, this is a story of the breaking point between sanity and madness, delivered in a straightforward and welcoming teen voice.”
—Booklist, starred review
★ “Winters deftly combines mystery, ghost story, historical fiction, and romance...the story and setting are atmospheric and eerie.”
—School Library Journal, starred review
“Romance fans will love Stephen's ghostly visits to Mary Shelley. Mystery lovers will enjoy the satisfactory resolution of the puzzle. Recommend this title to fans of Libba Bray's The Diviners.”
—School Library Journal, starred review
“Romance fans will love Stephen's ghostly visits to Mary Shelley. Mystery lovers will enjoy the satisfactory resolution of the puzzle. Recommend this title to fans of Libba Bray's The Diviners.”
—VOYA Magazine, highlighted review
“This engrossing combination of historical fiction, ghost story, psychological thriller, and straight-up whodunit moves between genres with stunning ease, maximizing the tropes of each to satisfying effect.”
“Winters strikes just the right balance between history and ghost story, neatly capturing the tenor of the times, as growing scientific inquiry collided with heightened spiritualist curiosity.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Cat Winters's debut novel is creepy good... Mary Shelley, with her Boy Scout boots and penchant for aviatrix goggles, is just plain awesomely odd.”
—The Boston Globe
“One of the creepiest (in a good way) covers of the season! What's inside, historical Y.A. set at the time of the Spanish influenza, is equally haunting.”
—The Atlantic Wire
“Beautifully written and absolutely riveting.”
—The Statesman Journal
“The passion of first love and the paranoia of the times are realistically and movingly rendered.”
—The Oregonian
“Part history, part mystery, part post-apocalyptic paranormal romance, In the Shadow of Blackbirds bundles everything in a spookily atmospheric and almost otherworldly early-twentieth-century San Diego. From the first page, I was captivated by Mary Shelley Black—by her spirit and by her capacity to love and hope amid the horrors of war and the hysteria of pandemic.”
—Katherine Longshore
Author of The Royal Circle series
“[A] gorgeous production...The book’s historic setting is as much a star as the plucky Mary Shelley...”
—Library Journal“Cat Winters's debut novel is creepy good... Mary Shelley, with her Boy Scout boots and penchant for aviatrix goggles, is just plain awesomely odd.”
—The Boston Globe
“One of the creepiest (in a good way) covers of the season! What's inside, historical Y.A. set at the time of the Spanish influenza, is equally haunting.”
—The Atlantic Wire
“Beautifully written and absolutely riveting.”
—The Statesman Journal
“The passion of first love and the paranoia of the times are realistically and movingly rendered.”
—The Oregonian
“Words like ‘unputdownable’ and ‘irresistible’ are simply not enough for Cat Winters’s In the Shadow of Blackbirds. Days after finishing this story, it remains the first thought I have in the morning, and the thing that haunts me until I sleep.”
New York Times bestselling author
of The Chemical Garden trilogy
“The plot is well developed, the story is full of good research on folk remedies, spirit photographers, séances, and the horrors of losing your mind in the trenches.”
—BayViews
“Cat Winters deftly captures the darkness and the light of human nature. I swear, I can smell the smoke from the flashlamps and taste the electricity in the air—this dark and startling story lingers long after the final page.”
of The Chemical Garden trilogy
“Mary Shelley is a likable, sympathetic heroine, and through her story, teen readers will get a glimpse of a fascinating time period, made all the more real by the haunting historic photographs that pepper the novel, from soldiers in trenches to policemen in gauze masks. Part romance, part mystery and part ghost story, In the Shadow of Blackbirds makes palpable a terrifying time that brought the horror of death into the homes of millions.”
—BookPage
—BookPage
“The plot is well developed, the story is full of good research on folk remedies, spirit photographers, séances, and the horrors of losing your mind in the trenches.”
—BayViews
“Cat Winters deftly captures the darkness and the light of human nature. I swear, I can smell the smoke from the flashlamps and taste the electricity in the air—this dark and startling story lingers long after the final page.”
Edgar Award-nominated author of Shadowed Summer
and The Vespertine series
and The Vespertine series
“Part history, part mystery, part post-apocalyptic paranormal romance, In the Shadow of Blackbirds bundles everything in a spookily atmospheric and almost otherworldly early-twentieth-century San Diego. From the first page, I was captivated by Mary Shelley Black—by her spirit and by her capacity to love and hope amid the horrors of war and the hysteria of pandemic.”
—Katherine Longshore
Author of The Royal Circle series
