I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Children by Melissa Albert Published by William Morrow on June 2 2026
Genres: Adult, Fantasy
Pages: 416
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: A complex, fantastical coming-of-age story that explores fame, family ties and the blurred boundaries between fantasy and reality, The Children is a mesmerizing tale that will haunt readers with its sense of foreboding and wonder.
“Her whole rib cage ached with understanding. There would be no going back. No earlier, softer place. Time ran in one direction; they would never be children again.”
Where do I even start with this review? The Children might be Melissa Albert’s magnum opus, at least at this point in her career. This is a magical, intricate story about art, creation, grief, coming-of-age and family, as seen through the eyes of a woman who was raised by famous parents and had to navigate fame and scrutiny. The Children is a book to savor, and it took me longer to read that I expected, not because the pace is slow, but rather Albert’s complex story demands a certain amount of patience and attention in order to absorb its many components. I loved every minute of reading it, and Melissa Albert’s luminous prose made it even better.
The story revolves around Guinevere and Ennis Sharpe, whose mother Edith became famous for her wildly popular children’s book The Ninth City and the four subsequent books in the series. When Guinevere was eleven, a tragic fire broke out at the family house, and Guinevere and Ennis were the only survivors. Now twenty years later, Guin has written a memoir called Ninth City Dreamer about her life growing up as a character in a famous book series—Edith modeled the fictional children in the books after her real children, even going so far as to use their names in the books. Guin hasn’t seen her brother since that fateful night, and even after years of searching for him, he’s continued to elude her.
At the same time, Ennis, who has become famous himself for his large-scale, bizarre art installations, has just announced a new show. Titled “Mother,” Guin is convinced that the show will focus on Edith and might reveal secrets she doesn’t want the world to know. This time Guin is determined to find him, and so five days before Mother is due to open, she visits the site of the installation, hoping to run into him.
In alternating chapters, we watch Guin’s and Ennis’s childhood unfold, from the time they arrive at the Farmhouse as young children, to Edith’s breakout success with her book, to the final tragedy of the fire. Albert masterfully jumps back and forth in time, building up her characters’ backstories (as well as detailed observations of the many side characters). As children living with two rather eccentric and absentee parents (although I have to give a pass to Llewelyn, their father, as he was a wonderful parent for the most part), Guin and Ennis, two years apart, grow up exposed to art and imagination, but there is also a darker side to their childhood: the unsettling third floor room that ultimately becomes Edith’s writing space; the rotting fruit in the orchard, buzzing with bees; and the singing that Guin swears she hears coming from the house. These early scenes with the children were straight out of a fairy tale, including Ennis’s odd foreshadowing of things to come.
The reader gets glimpses into the pages of The Ninth City, a magical portal world that must be navigated by two young children named Ennis and Guinevere. I badly wish that the book existed in real life, I’d love to read it myself. Equally imaginative are the “Interstitial” chapters scattered throughout, which describe each of Ennis’s art installations over the years. These uncanny and immersive art shows are full of odd set pieces: corridors arranged like mazes, where attendees, who aren’t allowed to bring cell phones inside, wander and get lost, only to emerge hours later. The fact that Ennis himself is an enigma, a reclusive man who is hard to track down, adds to his public appeal.
Guin is a wonderful character, whose childhood innocence is taken away once Edith becomes famous. I loved the relationship between her and Ennis as children, so it’s especially hard on Guin when Ennis disappears. As an adult, she’s floundering to find purpose after after a rather traumatic childhood, and she has reluctantly taken on the job of being the voice for the Ninth City empire, even though it’s making her unhappy. She’s also struggling with her personal life, and the only thing that really matters to her is finding Ennis, who has been impossible to pin down since the fire.
The Children will appeal to readers who love literary fiction, and I found myself comparing Melissa Albert’s prose and themes to such writers as Emily St. John Mandel and Tiffany McDaniel, so if you love those authors as well, you don’t want to miss this.
There is a speculative element to the story, which I haven’t talked about due to spoilers. It isn’t revealed until almost the end, and it explains many of the mysteries in the story. I did not see the ending coming at all, and I was pleasantly surprised at how effective it was. Albert adds a final Epilogue that gave me that tingly feeling you get when you realize you’ve just read something very special. I highly recommend The Children, and it’s one of my favorite reads of the year so far.
Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.
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