Name: Smothermoss
Rating: 4 (2 reviews)
Author: Alisa Alering

About this book

Summary
Book Club Questions

Book Summary

A haunting, imaginative, and twisting tale of two sisters and the menacing, unexplained forces that threaten them and their rural mountain community.

In 1980s Appalachia, sisters Sheila and Angie couldn't be more different. While their mother works long shifts at the nearby asylum, Sheila does her best to care for their home and keeps to herself, even when enduring relentless bullying from classmates. Her rambunctious, fearless younger sister, Angie, is more focused on fighting imaginary zombies, and creating tarot-like cards that seem to have a mind of their own.

When the brutal murder of two female hikers on the nearby Appalachian Trail stuns their small community, the sisters find themselves tangled in a dangerous game of cat and mouse. Angie discovers a ripped shirt, soaked in blood; money Sheila's been stashing away disappears; and a strange man shows up at a local store, trying to barter with a woman's watch. As the threat of violence looms larger, the mysterious, ancient mountain they live on—and their willingness to trust each other—might be the only things that can save them from the darkness consuming their home.

In turns both terrifying and otherworldly, author Alisa Alering opens the door to the hidden world of Smothermoss—a mountain that sighs, monsters made of ink, rabbits both dead and alive, and ropes that just won't come undone. Unsettling, propulsive, and wonderfully atmospheric, Alering's stunning debut novel renegotiates what is seen and unseen, what is real and what is haunted.

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

How would you characterize the relationship between Sheila and Angie? In what ways are they different, and are there ways in which they are the same?
How do the many communities surrounding them—both the people they encounter at school and elsewhere, and the plants and animals of the mountain on which they live—impact Sheila and Angie? What does this book have to say about the ways our surroundings can shape who we are?
What role does the mountain itself play in Smothermoss? How did author Alisa Alering make the world of the mountain come to life on the page?
Did you think the rope around Sheila's neck was real, imagined, or somewhere in between? Why do you think Alering created this image?
Who would you say is the most ...

Media Reviews

"A dense, atmospheric novel whose setting operates as fully as any of its characters, Alering's debut is one part fairy tale, one part thriller, and one part ethnography of an area that endures in our mythopoetic memories even as it vanishes from the face of the land. A compelling debut that glimmers with the lights of the forest as it unwinds its tale." —Kirkus Reviews

"Some readers will be left scratching their heads, but Alering pulls off an evocative portrait of the creepy rural setting." —Publishers Weekly

"For those obsessed with Appalachian lore comes a hauntingly atmospheric tale toeing the line of a twisted fairy tale. Centered on two sisters growing up in 1980s Appalachia, this novel is a gothic and propulsive read that will dazzle you from start to finish." ―Barnes & Noble, A Most Anticipated Debut of 2024

"This beautifully strange book of the mountains is alarming and inspiring. Alisa Alering's Smothermoss goes fearlessly toward realities dismantled by violence, and the weird, wonderful world of the woods." ―Samantha Hunt, author of The Unwritten Book

"At the heart of this story are two sisters, the mountain on which they live, and the persistent question as to which is more perilous, the natural world or the unnatural. Beautifully written, tense and absorbing, Smothermoss is an original story from a truly gifted storyteller." ―Karen Joy Fowler, author of Booth

"Smothermoss is rich, strange, and beautiful, simultaneously eerie and so very honest. An exciting first novel." ―Kij Johnson, author of The Privilege of the Happy Ending: Small, Medium, and Large Stories

This information about Smothermoss was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Reader Reviews

Write your own review

Lauri Z. (Washington, DC)

Smothermoss
This book was one of the most intriguing books I have read in a long time. The story is woven with such sublime symbolic imagery that I had to slow down when I was reading it to take it all in. While the story is about two sisters living in Appalachia the author reveals many themes that I found relatable; among them are choices to be free from the ties that bind you, how the outside world creates narratives that can be woven into how one lives, if you listen closely enough, and how being different can be a blessing and a curse. The author did an extraordinary job with such subtlety of connecting me to the two sisters well beyond the end of the book, despite the fact that I live a very different life in a very different world.

Christine T. (Alma, WI)

Deep Mountain Magic
What a delightful, imaginative surprise. I loved the thoughtful weaving of old Appalachian magic with the stories of these sisters. This story felt deep and emotive. Alicia Aerling's storytelling truly evokes a unique sense of place. I felt like I was in the mountain and was stirred by the connection between the people, land, and folklore. This is a great fantasy read for lovers of wilderness and wildness. Loved it!

Carol F. (Lake Linden, MI)

Smothermoss
An intriguing story that captures you right from the first sentence. Two sisters who are at odds with each other until they discover that together they become stronger. Set in rural Appalachia the family is poor and the girls struggle to fit in at school.

The writing is so fluid that you want to keep reading to see how the narrative unfolds.
There is the otherworldly aspect to the story but I found it fit with the storyline and so had no difficulty accepting it. I would definitely read another book by Alisa Alering!

Jill

The Mountain
SMOTHERMOSS by Alisa Alering

The narration by Susan Bennett was very well done.

Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for the ARC audiobook.

Sheila and Angie are step-sisters living in a rural area of 1980s Appalachia with their mother, Bonnie and Great Aunt Athena. Sheila, at the age of 17, carries a heavy burden of caring for the family rabbits, their aging great aunt, the gardens and the home along with going to school. However Angie, at the age of 12, is Shelia’s greatest worry. Angie fantasies about saving the world from evil—-obsessed with battling imaginary enemies, with nuclear war, the Russians, and the tarot-like cards she has created that speak to her in ways only she understands. Their mother works long hours at the asylum and the girls are left to defend for themselves a lot of the time.

I was drawn into this propulsive debut of dark rural gothic/fairytale magic/thriller, right from the beginning. The book is layered with nuance and subtle meanings. The writing is lyrical and beautifully executed. Tells the complex nature of sisterhood in rural Appalachia along with a bit of folklore living on the outskirts of this rural community and how the mountain plays a powerful role. Can’t wait to see what this author has for us next.

Jill

The Mountain
The narration by Susan Bennett was very well done.

Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for the ARC audiobook.

Sheila and Angie are step-sisters living in a rural area of 1980s Appalachia with their mother, Bonnie and Great Aunt Athena. Sheila, at the age of 17, carries a heavy burden of caring for the family rabbits, their aging great aunt, the gardens and the home along with going to school. However Angie, at the age of 12, is Shelia’s greatest worry. Angie fantasies about saving the world from evil—-obsessed with battling imaginary enemies, with nuclear war, the Russians, and the tarot-like cards she has created that speak to her in ways only she understands. Their mother works long hours at the asylum and the girls are left to defend for themselves a lot of the time.

I was drawn into this propulsive debut of dark rural gothic/fairytale magic/thriller, right from the beginning. The book is layered with nuance and subtle meanings. The writing is lyrical and beautifully executed. Tells the complex nature of sisterhood in rural Appalachia along with a bit of folklore living on the outskirts of this rural community and how the mountain plays a powerful role. Can’t wait to see what this author has for us next.

Tracy B. (Pittsboro, NC)

Adolescent minds and magical
I remembered some of the adolescent fears that I had of the Russians and war. Magical thinking was a way that Angie was able to deal with the world. Sheila had the "rope" holding onto her.
The characters were vivid and very much alive to me. Outcasts, murder mystery, struggle to survive, often not knowing what is real or imagined. At first I struggled with the book then I was pulled into the life of this family. When it ended I wanted more. A cleverly written book.

...15 more reader reviews

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Author Information

Biography

Alisa Alering

Alisa Alering grew up in the Appalachian Mountains of Pennsylvania and now lives in Arizona. After attending Clarion West, their short fiction has been published in Fireside, Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet,Podcastle, and Cast of Wonders, among others, and been recognized by the Calvino Prize. A former librarian and science/technology reporter, they teach fiction workshops at the Highlights Foundation.

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