Curdle Creek

A Novel

By: Yvonne Battle-Felton

Narrated by: Joniece Abbott-Pratt

“Curdle Creek is a thoughtful, sinister tour-de-force.”―Tananarive Due, L.A. Times Book Prize-winning author of The Reformatory

For fans of “The Lottery” and The Hunger Games, this novel set in a small town with a sinister tradition is chilling in the best possible way.

Welcome to Curdle Creek, a place just dying to make you feel at home. Osira, a forty-five-year-old widow, is an obedient follower of the strict conventions of Curdle Creek, an all-Black town in rural America stuck in the past and governed by a tradition of ominous rituals. Osira is considered blessed, but her luck changes when her children flee, she comes second to last in the Running of the Widows and her father flees when his name is called in the annual Moving On ceremony.

Forced into a test of allegiance, Osira finds herself transported back in time, then into another realm where she must answer for crimes committed by Curdle Creek. Exile forces her to jump realms again, landing Osira even farther away from home, in rural England. Safe as long as she sticks to the rules, she quickly learns there are consequences for every kindness. Each jump could lead Osira anywhere but back home.

Curdle Creek is a unique, inventive novel exploring themes of home, belonging, motherhood and what we inherit from society. This American gothic offers a mash-up of the surreal and literary horror that will appeal to fans of Ring Shout, The Underground Railroad and Lovecraft Country. Yvonne Battle-Felton’s fever dream of a tale is enthralling, layered and quite unlike anything else.

A Macmillan Audio production from Henry Holt & Company.

©2024 Yvonne Battle-Felton (P)2024 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

“The nightmarish and allegorical Curdle Creek is a gorgeously written, surrealist folktale that goes bone deep. Compelling, thought-provoking, thrilling, haunting, Yvonne Battle-Felton's Curdle Creek is simply a marvel.”—Paul Tremblay, bestselling author of The Cabin at the End of the World and Horror Movie

“Tautly written, utterly gripping, Yvonne Battle-Felton's novel invites the reader into a world of mystery and mythology. Ultimately, Curdle Creek is about perseverance and hope, about remembering the past while boldly embracing the future and about posing the eternal question: how and where can a Black person simply be?”—Carolyn Ferrell, author of Dear Miss Metropolitan

The Voice Actress did her best with a poor story

No complaints about the performance. The story was the perfect example of "Great ideas, terrible execution".

What did I listen to and why?

This might’ve been a cool concept in another writers hands, but I found this to be so utterly boring and repetitious If I’d had anything else to accompany me on my drive I would’ve deleted it.

Excellent performance, weak story

The reader was excellent, which made the story even more disappointing. It’s impossible to believe or follow this story; I can’t quite tell what the point is supposed to be because I was too focused on the impossibility of the narrative. It’s not things like magic we’ll travel as it is badly structured dystopias and character choices that make no sense, and no context is provided (or unbelievable context is provided) to make it legible. I wanted to like this.

THE WORST BOOK EVER

This book was recommended to me as being a thriller. The most thrilling thing about it was when it ended. Don’t waste your money, credit, or time on this one