Day’s YA: THE COVE

THE COVE by Claire Rose
9781250387127 (trade paperback)
9781250452412 (library hardcover)
5/5/2026
Wednesday Books
Ages 13-18

E-galley available on Edelweiss and NetGalley

Seventeen-year-old Lindsay Weinberg has just been kicked out of prep school (again) and her parents’ driver has arrived to take her to yet another new school. But instead of heading to a school somewhere in the Tri-State Area, he starts driving north and doesn’t stop until he hits the tiny, coastal, middle-of-nowhere town of Marbury, Maine. It turns out that Lindsay is not being shipped to another school, but to her Uncle Levi’s farm. At first she thinks it might be okay. She always liked Uncle Levi when she was a kid. But when Lindsay arrives at the farm, she is greeted by Levi’s new wife, Irene, and Uncle Levi is nowhere to be found. In addition to the overly-religious Irene, Lindsay finds that there is a small group of teens living at the farm going through a reform program called Haven House. They have no phones, no internet, and must do manual labor all day long, following Irene’s strict rules.

While on a rare outing into town with Irene, Lindsay meets twins Phin and Cass, who tell Lindsay that they live on a remote island off the coast, only accessible during low tide. They invite Lindsay to a party, and Lindsay convinces the other teens to sneak out with her on Saturday night. They make their way to the mysterious Aeth Island and have the night of their lives with the people who live there—a community who calls themselves The Cove. But when they wake up the next morning, they’ve somehow made it back to their beds at Haven House, they have no memories of coming back to the farm, and one of them is missing. This disappearance is just the first in a string of events that reveal a terrifying truth lurking beneath the surface of the creepy small town and its mysterious offshore neighbor. Lindsay and her friends must learn what’s really going on with Aeth Island and its inhabitants before The Cove claims them all, one by one.

Claire Rose’s debut is a sea-soaked, folk horror ride that is both bitingly funny and deeply unsettling. I was immediately swept away into the heart-pounding story. The settings of Marbury and Aeth Island truly come to life as characters of their own, and Rose masterfully creates an atmosphere that is palpable—I could practically feel the salt on my skin and smell the briny sea air. 

If you look up “teen angst” in the dictionary you’ll find a picture of Lindsay Weinberg. She knows everything and will not be told otherwise, which makes her such a fun character to follow, with her irreverent inner monologue (and sometimes outer dialogue, as well). Lindsay and the other teens at the farm form a lovely little found family. They all have their own struggles that landed them at the farm, but they’re able to come together and uncover the chilling truth. And there’s just a touch of romance, which offers a bit of light in the darkness of The Cove.

THE COVE is haunting, fast-paced, and utterly atmospheric. It’s a wild ride that promises to claim its readers just as surely as The Cove claims its inhabitants, one by one. This is essential reading for fans of eerie YA mystery like R.L. Stine’s FEAR STREET and culty folk horror like Midsommar.

Happy reading!
<3 Emily

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