The Pecan Children

I just adore these writers!! Easily an auto buy author (duo) for me!

Filled with an intoxicating magical realism and this intricate system of breadcrumbs that you start to realize have been sprinkled throughout, The Pecan Children is a beautifully written book about home, family, love and loss.

Set against the kudzu choked backdrop of this pecan plantation in rural Arkansas, Lil tends the pecan harvests year after year. It’s a time she loves, even though the town has been sold off piece by piece, bringing a sense of melancholy. When her twin sister Sasha returns home, Lil reluctantly incorporates her back into the work their family has had for generations.

But, something is lurking just on the edge… something much older, something darker… something that could pop their meager little bubble. With much love and care for the characters, Quinn Connor writes a deeply satisfying story, one in which I never saw coming.

In The Pecan Children, we follow more than just Lil and Sasha. There are other characters, there are other events happening simultaneously to pull all of this together so perfectly. There is this dark and mysterious lore to the woods and a responsibility passed down, creating this utter hold over me. I loved every single minute!

Gorgeous stunning horror realism with gorgeous world building and a hefty plant and soil motifs thanks for the arf

After reading “Cicadas Sing of Summer Graves” last summer, I immediately jumped at the chance to read and review a new book by the talented author duo. And let me tell you, this book was everything I wanted it to be.

The story follows twin sisters lives, as they try their best to keep themselves - and the isolated, dying town - afloat. Lil takes care of the pecan orchard, as she always has, now more carefully than ever, as all the surrounding orchards keep falling to ruins. Sasha has returned from New York, and now does odd jobs around town, helping out everyone but her sister. The two have a rhythm that gets shaken by old friends and lovers turning up unexpectedly, truly testing the fragility of the life they’ve been living...

There is just something so cozy and comforting, and yet at times suffocating, about a small town setting, and the authors have once again managed to pull it off really well. It was essential in the story being told, the way characters fit together, the subtle - and then not so subtle - darker parts of the book. Speaking of which, the magical realism was a perfect and balanced blend, even more so than the previous book by Quinn Connor, at least in my subjective opinion (a good thing got better? it’s more likely than you think).

This was a short and well crafted story I would recommend to anyone looking for quality read during long evenings - while the book is set to come out in summer, I can only imagine the experience of reading this in autumn.. both dark and sweet, just like a pecan pie.

The Pecan Children is the hauntingly beautiful story of the Clearwater sisters, set in a Southern town famous for it's bountiful pecan trees. Lil, the primary caretaker for the family's orchard, has dutifully harvested the pecans season after season since the death of her mother. Sasha, recently returned to town after years living in New York, is trying to find her place in town without stepping on her sister's toes in their orchard. I loved both Lil and Sasha, and the secondary characters that shaped their everyday life.
Laced with hauntingly beautiful magic, this absolutely engrossing Sothern gothic tale is one of my favorite reads in a long time. I was a huge fan of Quinn Connor's debut novel, Cicadas Sing Of Summer Graves, so I was so excited to be able to get an early copy of The Pecan Children, and I felt like it absolutely lived up to my expectations. I look forward to reading whatever these authors put out in the future!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of The Pecan Children in exchange for my honest review.

Sapphic
Mysterious
Coming of age
Fantasy
Adult Fiction


After the death of her mother, Lil Clearwater has to look after the family pecan orchard on her own until her twin, Sasha, returns home after living in New York.

Their home town is slowly dilapidating as families are forced to sell their land and move away, but the twins refuse to sell their mother’s land.

The annual pecan festival brings home all their old friends including Jason, Lil’s ex and Autumn, the best friend and object of Sasha’s affection.

Nothing in town is as it seems. Phantom fires, children born from pecan trees and someone known as the hungry man are but a few things wrong with the town.

This book was weird but good, the same way that Twin Peaks was weird but good. At times you don’t know what’s going on but you keep going. In the end everything comes together but leaves you with so many questions.
The book was extremely creepy and I highly recommend to it others who enjoy reading weird and wonderful stories.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts are my own.
A huge thank you to Netgalley for this copy

The Pecan Children leads you through a haunting experience of small town life, exposing all the mystery and fear that comes with growing up trapped in a tiny speck of civilization while the wider world grows up around you. With poetic language, Quinn Connor etches into your soul every pang of fear and happy thrill of wondering if you should burrow down into the familiar warmth of nostalgia or fight tooth and nail to change who you are. The prose is incredibly unique, making your heart ache in a hundred unexpected ways.
The characters wrap around each other like the unending fields of kudzu that blanket their home, emotions and pasts intertwined in a soft mess of adoration, hurt, sacrifice and guilt. Even if you don’t prefer love stories, you’ll savor watching these people try to figure out how to love each other in every possible way—romantic, platonic, familial.
Soaked in folklore that sets itself ablaze by the end, The Pecan Children makes you feel like you’re ready to call the ending only to pile on its well-earned twists during its fast paced second and third acts.
This story is tailored for readers who love the uncanny reality of southern gothic stories while still being allowed to hold on to shimmery hope for a happy ending. I absolutely loved getting lost in it.

This book is so sharp and brilliant. This may be in my top list of the year! A southern gothic read that haunts a disapearing past. All the suspense and quirky energy is in this book!