KUOW Book Club's October pick from Kirsten Sundberg Lunstrum is perfect for spooky season

The KUOW Book Club is reading "Elita" by Kirsten Sundberg Lunstrum this month.

This haunting novel, Lunstrum's first, follows child development scholar Bernadette Baston as she travels to the remote island of Elita in Puget Sound in hopes of solving a strange case. The island holds a prison, and a girl, dubbed Atalanta, has been found in the woods nearby. What's her story? If only she could tell us.

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The story unfolds in the winter of 1951, a period that lends an extra dose of volatility to the moody Pacific Northwest setting. Even as a professional and subject matter expert on Atalanta's case, Bernadette is nonetheless held to mid-20th-century expectations. What could possibly go wrong?

Together, Bernadette and her nonverbal charge set out to solve a mystery that could uproot a community. It's the perfect psychological suspense to kick off spooky season.

Here's the reading schedule:

• Read the first 13 chapters by Oct. 13. (Did I pick unlucky 13 on purpose? Maybe.)
• Finish the book by Oct. 27.

Lunstrum has kindly signed on for an interview at the end of our reading. As per usual, I’ll send out a newsletter at the halfway point and when we finish the book to share our conversation.

Subscribe to the book club newsletter here, and join the conversation by emailing me directly at kcampbell@kuow.org.

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