Song of the Saltings | Rachael King

A monster, a girl, a sacrifice.

This YA folk horror novel from the award-winning author of The Grimmelings and Red Rocks takes you to a world both terrifying and mysterious.

On the isolated island of Brack, the people live by an ancient bargain: every year, a sacrifice must be made to the Glimm, the creature that haunts the salt marshes.

Eight years after the monster spared her, 16-year-old Lotta tends the Council's sacrificial horses and keeps her distance from the villagers who whisper about her fate. But something is stirring. The island is dying. It hums beneath her feet, and a song threads through her dreams. Is the Glimm calling Lotta back?

A chance encounter with Moss, a village outcast, will change both their lives, and the fate of the island, forever. To uncover Brack's deepest secrets, Lotta and Moss will need to trust each other and risk everything they hold dear.Because on Brack, monsters come in many forms.

A read that will have you on the edge of your seat

'Riveting, compelling.' Isobelle Carmody 'You had me at "bog witch".' Lili Wilkinson 'Utterly gripping, lyrical and haunting.' Rachael Craw 'Delightful and deliciously creepy.' Andrea Eames 'A powerfully told adventure about monsters and magic.' Noelle McCarthy

Rachael King is a writer, reviewer, former literary festival director and ex-bass player living in Ōtautahi Christchurch. Her novels for young people include The Grimmelings, which has won several awards and is published worldwide; the Violet and the Velvets series, inspired by her time as a teenage bass player; and Secrets at Red Rocks, which won the Esther Glen Medal in 2013 (as Red Rocks) and was relaunched to coincide with a television adaptation released on Sky/Neon in March 2025. Song of the Saltings is her first novel for young adults. Rachael was named Best Reviewer at the Voyager New Zealand Media Awards in 2023, received a Waitangi Day Honour Award for her work at WORD Christchurch in 2020, and was awarded the 2025 Frank Sargeson Fellowship. She sometimes writes for adults too. www.rachael-king.com