Set in a quiet Detroit‑suburb in the 1970s, the five sisters of the Lisbon family — Cecilia, Lux, Bonnie, Mary and Therese — live under the strict rule of their parents and the inscrutable gaze of neighborhood boys. After a failed suicide attempt by the youngest sister, the house becomes increasingly isolated, the girls retreat further from their lives outside. As the boys hyper‑observe their lives from across the street, the sisters’ mysterious behavior grows darker. Eventually a shocking pact is carried out, leaving the community and the boys haunted by what they will never fully understand. The novel explores themes of adolescence, alienation, memory, and how we attempt to understand others — and often fail.

Trigger warnings

↳ This story contains content that might be troubling for some readers, including, but not limited to depictions of:

• Suicide & Self-Harm
  
  

• Mental Illness (Depression) & Isolation
  
  

• Sexual Content (Especially Under‑Age Sexuality & Objectification of Minors)
  
  

• Emotional Distress, Family Dysfunction, and Emotional Neglect