The Music and the Strife by Susan Rooke
The Music and the Strife by Susan Rooke
English | 2025 | Sci-Fi & Fantasy
In August 1976, Sophia “Phee” McKean is 15 years old—an only child, smart, bookish, mature for her age. After a terrible family tragedy, she’s trying to find her way in the unfamiliar town her mother has chosen for their new home, and in a school where she knows no one.
Phee longs to fit in, and feels as if her wish has been granted when beautiful, talented Holly Miller befriends her. Holly is a gifted violinist, and her family has deep roots in the small-town community. She and her parents welcome Phee with open arms.
At first Phee brushes off the oddities that seem to surround the Millers: their meandering, confusing house and its strange noises; the disorienting visions and missing time she sometimes experiences in their company. But Holly has a troubled older brother who seems bent on tormenting Phee. As he grows bolder—confronting her, frightening her—Phee begins to glimpse the mysterious darkness he inhabits, and realizes the Millers are keeping fantastical secrets.
