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Holloway
“Elana K. Arnold paints prose like a master. A fascinating journey through time, love, and forgiveness.” – A.S. King, Printz Award-winning author of
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Award-winning author Elana K. Arnold returns with a boldly visionary, deeply felt story that crosses space and time to examine loss and love in a world on the brink.
It is the late summer of 2021, and a girl named Nora is on the Paris Metro.
Nora, whose mother loved her, even though Nora was broken.
Nora, who couldn’t help her mother when her mother needed her most.
Nora, from whom the pandemic has taken nearly everything, save the object she clings a cylinder containing her mother’s ashes.
With no family left, no friends to speak of, and no way to turn back time, Nora has come to France to keep a promise she never got to to spread the ashes in a place her mother never got to see. But instead, Nora finds herself on the run through a forest in the night, taking refuge in a dark holloway. And when she wakes, and tries to make her way back to something she recognizes, she realizes that is impossible.
Because it is no longer 2021.
Questioning everything—including her own sanity—Nora sets out on a journey through a time and place completely foreign to her, and yet one that, much like the time and place she came from, is defined by death, loss, fear, and uncertainty. A journey in which she must find a way to honor her mother—and heal herself—in a world that feels irrevocably broken.
Award-winning author Elana K. Arnold returns with a boldly visionary, deeply felt story that crosses space and time to examine loss and love in a world on the brink.
It is the late summer of 2021, and a girl named Nora is on the Paris Metro.
Nora, whose mother loved her, even though Nora was broken.
Nora, who couldn’t help her mother when her mother needed her most.
Nora, from whom the pandemic has taken nearly everything, save the object she clings a cylinder containing her mother’s ashes.
With no family left, no friends to speak of, and no way to turn back time, Nora has come to France to keep a promise she never got to to spread the ashes in a place her mother never got to see. But instead, Nora finds herself on the run through a forest in the night, taking refuge in a dark holloway. And when she wakes, and tries to make her way back to something she recognizes, she realizes that is impossible.
Because it is no longer 2021.
Questioning everything—including her own sanity—Nora sets out on a journey through a time and place completely foreign to her, and yet one that, much like the time and place she came from, is defined by death, loss, fear, and uncertainty. A journey in which she must find a way to honor her mother—and heal herself—in a world that feels irrevocably broken.
Audible Audio
Published May 5, 2026
About the author
Elana K. Arnold
34 books1,091 followersELANA K. ARNOLD writes books for and about children and teens. She holds a master’s degree in Creative Writing/Fiction from the University of California, Davis where she has taught Creative Writing and Adolescent Literature. Her most recent YA novel, DAMSEL, is a Printz Honor book, Her 2017 novel, WHAT GIRLS ARE MADE OF, was a finalist for the National Book Award, and her middle grade novel, A BOY CALLED BAT, is a Junior Library Guild Selection. A parent and educator living in Huntington Beach, California, Elana is a frequent speaker at schools, libraries, and writers’ conferences. Currently, Elana is the caretaker of seven pets, only three of which have fur. Sign up for her newsletter here: https://elanakarnold.us10.list-manage...
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November 21, 2025Going by below comments, the Goodreads description is currently wrong and this is the description:
It is the late summer of 2021, and a girl named Nora is on the Paris Metro.
Nora, whose mother loved her, even though Nora was broken.
Nora, who couldn’t help her mother when her mother needed her most.
Nora, from whom the pandemic has taken nearly everything, save the object she clings to: a cylinder containing her mother’s ashes.
With no family left, no friends to speak of, and no way to turn back time, Nora has come to France to keep a promise she never got to make: to spread the ashes in a place her mother never got to see. But instead, Nora finds herself on the run through a forest in the night, taking refuge in a dark holloway. And when she wakes, and tries to make her way back to something she recognizes, she realizes that is impossible.
Because it is no longer 2021.
Questioning everything—including her own sanity—Nora sets out on a journey through a time and place completely foreign to her, and yet one that, much like the time and place she came from, is defined by death, loss, fear, and uncertainty. A journey in which she must find a way to honor her mother—and heal herself—in a world that feels irrevocably broken.
It is the late summer of 2021, and a girl named Nora is on the Paris Metro.
Nora, whose mother loved her, even though Nora was broken.
Nora, who couldn’t help her mother when her mother needed her most.
Nora, from whom the pandemic has taken nearly everything, save the object she clings to: a cylinder containing her mother’s ashes.
With no family left, no friends to speak of, and no way to turn back time, Nora has come to France to keep a promise she never got to make: to spread the ashes in a place her mother never got to see. But instead, Nora finds herself on the run through a forest in the night, taking refuge in a dark holloway. And when she wakes, and tries to make her way back to something she recognizes, she realizes that is impossible.
Because it is no longer 2021.
Questioning everything—including her own sanity—Nora sets out on a journey through a time and place completely foreign to her, and yet one that, much like the time and place she came from, is defined by death, loss, fear, and uncertainty. A journey in which she must find a way to honor her mother—and heal herself—in a world that feels irrevocably broken.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
3.5 stars
This is a really inventive effort from Arnold that worked well for me in some ways. One thing is for sure: Arnold does A LOT in this novel.
Readers meet Nora in Paris on the Metro, where she's riding along with her mother's ashes. Already a wild start. We soon discover that Nora is autistic and that her mother's death could have been prevented if only her mother hadn't gotten herself into the horrible filth that is fake news. Her mom has some, uh, non-scientific views about vaccines and really loves a bizarro conspiracy theory, and these things - in addition to fully alienating her daughter - end up killing her during the pandemic. At this point, I have exactly no tolerance for people's obsession with believing lies and nonsense, especially when it comes to how much that harms society as a whole, so I struggled getting through some of this content. Ya, it's fiction, but it's also our reality, and that is gross. Arnold has a great author's note in which she describes her impetus for this book and her ongoing concerns about how folks operate in the world at this time, and readers won't be surprised by her insights after they complete this book.
Oh, and Nora is already on a tough journey, but it's made more bizarre by the time travel/magical realism element that honestly I could have done without. I get the point, but I felt at times like I was working in two different novels and think I'd have preferred that. Yes, folks were in extreme danger before based on their identities, and they sure are again, but I'm just not totally sure about this particular genre mash up.
This is an intriguing effort, and while it's not my favorite from this author, I enjoyed it overall and definitely recommend it to folks looking for something new.
*Special thanks to NetGalley and Clarion Books for this arc and alc, which I received in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
This is a really inventive effort from Arnold that worked well for me in some ways. One thing is for sure: Arnold does A LOT in this novel.
Readers meet Nora in Paris on the Metro, where she's riding along with her mother's ashes. Already a wild start. We soon discover that Nora is autistic and that her mother's death could have been prevented if only her mother hadn't gotten herself into the horrible filth that is fake news. Her mom has some, uh, non-scientific views about vaccines and really loves a bizarro conspiracy theory, and these things - in addition to fully alienating her daughter - end up killing her during the pandemic. At this point, I have exactly no tolerance for people's obsession with believing lies and nonsense, especially when it comes to how much that harms society as a whole, so I struggled getting through some of this content. Ya, it's fiction, but it's also our reality, and that is gross. Arnold has a great author's note in which she describes her impetus for this book and her ongoing concerns about how folks operate in the world at this time, and readers won't be surprised by her insights after they complete this book.
Oh, and Nora is already on a tough journey, but it's made more bizarre by the time travel/magical realism element that honestly I could have done without. I get the point, but I felt at times like I was working in two different novels and think I'd have preferred that. Yes, folks were in extreme danger before based on their identities, and they sure are again, but I'm just not totally sure about this particular genre mash up.
This is an intriguing effort, and while it's not my favorite from this author, I enjoyed it overall and definitely recommend it to folks looking for something new.
*Special thanks to NetGalley and Clarion Books for this arc and alc, which I received in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
✦•┈๑⋅⋯ Holloway by Elana K. Arnold ⋯⋅๑┈•✦
➝ • 4/5 ☆ •
✧ Holloway is one of those books that pretends it’s going to be normal for the first few chapters before immediately going off the rails. Arnold drops you into a world that looks familiar, then starts pulling at the seams. The writing is lush in a poetic way, and it works. Dreamy, eerie, and still grounded enough that you can actually stay with it without getting lost.
The characters are messy in a way that feels intentional, not chaotic for the sake of it. Everyone is carrying something sharp or secret or just deeply inconvenient, and the book lets them unravel without rushing them. The atmosphere does a lot of the work here, foggy, strange, slightly off in a way you can’t quite explain. It builds this slow pressure that makes everything feel like it’s leaning in a little too close. Honestly, kind of unsettling.
It’s not perfect. A few moments drift into “okay, what is happening here” territory, but the overall effect still holds. Strange, unsettling, and beautifully written in a way that makes you wonder if the book is messing with you on purpose. A good pick if you like your stories weird, a little feral, and not interested in explaining themselves too much. ✧
If you like:
✔️ surreal fiction
✔️ eerie atmosphere
✔️ messy characters
✔️ slow burn weirdness
✔️ lyrical prose
✔️ uncanny vibes
📅 Pub Day: Out Today 📚
💌 ARC gifted via NetGalley from HarperAudio Children's. All opinions are my own.
🗣 QOTD: Do you prefer stories that explain everything or stories that leave you with questions?
➝ • 4/5 ☆ •
✧ Holloway is one of those books that pretends it’s going to be normal for the first few chapters before immediately going off the rails. Arnold drops you into a world that looks familiar, then starts pulling at the seams. The writing is lush in a poetic way, and it works. Dreamy, eerie, and still grounded enough that you can actually stay with it without getting lost.
The characters are messy in a way that feels intentional, not chaotic for the sake of it. Everyone is carrying something sharp or secret or just deeply inconvenient, and the book lets them unravel without rushing them. The atmosphere does a lot of the work here, foggy, strange, slightly off in a way you can’t quite explain. It builds this slow pressure that makes everything feel like it’s leaning in a little too close. Honestly, kind of unsettling.
It’s not perfect. A few moments drift into “okay, what is happening here” territory, but the overall effect still holds. Strange, unsettling, and beautifully written in a way that makes you wonder if the book is messing with you on purpose. A good pick if you like your stories weird, a little feral, and not interested in explaining themselves too much. ✧
If you like:
✔️ surreal fiction
✔️ eerie atmosphere
✔️ messy characters
✔️ slow burn weirdness
✔️ lyrical prose
✔️ uncanny vibes
📅 Pub Day: Out Today 📚
💌 ARC gifted via NetGalley from HarperAudio Children's. All opinions are my own.
🗣 QOTD: Do you prefer stories that explain everything or stories that leave you with questions?
May 11, 2026
“Holloway is a hauntingly beautiful and emotionally layered novel that blends grief, magical realism, historical fiction, and psychological depth into a deeply immersive reading experience. Elana K. Arnold crafts a story that feels both intimate and expansive, exploring themes of loss, trauma, memory, and healing through atmospheric storytelling and emotionally resonant prose. The emotional vulnerability at the center of Nora’s journey gives the novel a raw authenticity that lingers long after the final page.”
“What stood out most was the way the novel used time travel and historical displacement not simply as plot devices, but as emotional reflections of grief, disorientation, and personal transformation. Nora’s journey through unfamiliar worlds mirrors her internal struggle with guilt, loneliness, and the desperate search for meaning after devastating loss. The writing feels lyrical and deeply human, balancing emotional heaviness with moments of beauty, resilience, and hope. The novel’s emotional intelligence and richly layered atmosphere make it a powerful and unforgettable reading experience.”
“What stood out most was the way the novel used time travel and historical displacement not simply as plot devices, but as emotional reflections of grief, disorientation, and personal transformation. Nora’s journey through unfamiliar worlds mirrors her internal struggle with guilt, loneliness, and the desperate search for meaning after devastating loss. The writing feels lyrical and deeply human, balancing emotional heaviness with moments of beauty, resilience, and hope. The novel’s emotional intelligence and richly layered atmosphere make it a powerful and unforgettable reading experience.”
May 7, 2026
Neurodivergent time traveler
Wow. This book kind of blew me away.
Post pandemic and Nora is all alone. No family, no home- Just a bamboo cylinder containing her mother's ashes and a heavy guilt upon her shoulders. She is determined to spend the last of her money to scatter her mom's ashes in France- a huge feat for neurodivergent Nora. Out of money and indecisive about where to spread the ashes, she falls asleep in the forest and awakens in 1946.
I can't give this enough praise. The writing is so beautiful and luring. I received this as an audiobook from netgalley, but it errored and I literally ran out and bought it as soon as it released. I felt myself drawn to Nora and so invested in her story.
Narrator - Kira Fixx 5/5 stars.
5/5- Best book i've read so far this year.
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this audiobook
Wow. This book kind of blew me away.
Post pandemic and Nora is all alone. No family, no home- Just a bamboo cylinder containing her mother's ashes and a heavy guilt upon her shoulders. She is determined to spend the last of her money to scatter her mom's ashes in France- a huge feat for neurodivergent Nora. Out of money and indecisive about where to spread the ashes, she falls asleep in the forest and awakens in 1946.
I can't give this enough praise. The writing is so beautiful and luring. I received this as an audiobook from netgalley, but it errored and I literally ran out and bought it as soon as it released. I felt myself drawn to Nora and so invested in her story.
Narrator - Kira Fixx 5/5 stars.
5/5- Best book i've read so far this year.
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this audiobook
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
Covid’s isolation was a bit of a boon to autistic Nora; she revels in great swaths of time to lose herself in her art. Her relationship with her mother is complicated by her mother’s early abandonment of her, leaving her in the care of her now-dead grandmother. When her mother dies of Covid, Nora sets off to France to scatter her mother’s ashes; that journey and the decision about where the ashes should go takes Nora through a holloway, time traveling to post-World War II France, and provides an intersection with the missing years when her mother left her. Arnold intriguingly meshes themes about mothers and daughters, guilt and forgiveness, LGBTQ history, and grounds them with some real historical figures who Nora meets in a rural asylum for the insane. A captivating read. Earc from Edelweiss.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Extraordinary and evocative. I enjoyed Arnold’s other books, but this one— wow. The ways Nora navigates her relationship with her mother and her place in a world that doesn’t have patience for people with autism… the feelings of utter aloneness after Gillian refuses the Covid vaccine and dies… Nora’s determination to honor her mother by taking her ashes to France… and the upheaval of everything she thinks she knows after stumbling onto a path in the forest that somehow transports her back to 1946. Art plays an essential role throughout the story, and Arnold’s weaving of words and events and characters into a completely satisfying resolution is its own work of art. Seriously— read this.
Thank you, HarperCollins and NetGalley for the advance e-book copy.
Thank you, HarperCollins and NetGalley for the advance e-book copy.
May 11, 2026
Just this...
"If you’re lucky enough to find people who love you, people you can love in return . . . does it really matter where they are? Or when?
Maybe time, like love, isn’t a straight line.
Maybe it’s a curve and an arc and a spiral, too.
Maybe it’s a cord wrapped around the neck of a half-birthed child.
Maybe time is a cave, so deep there seems no end.
Maybe it’s a constellation, each moment a sharp bright point, revealing its meaning only if one can step back, back, back again—or in, closer and closer, and closer, still.
Maybe time is a breath, held and released."
~ Nora's final words.. [poetically crafted by Elana K. Arnold, performed to heartrending resonance by Kira Fixx]
"If you’re lucky enough to find people who love you, people you can love in return . . . does it really matter where they are? Or when?
Maybe time, like love, isn’t a straight line.
Maybe it’s a curve and an arc and a spiral, too.
Maybe it’s a cord wrapped around the neck of a half-birthed child.
Maybe time is a cave, so deep there seems no end.
Maybe it’s a constellation, each moment a sharp bright point, revealing its meaning only if one can step back, back, back again—or in, closer and closer, and closer, still.
Maybe time is a breath, held and released."
~ Nora's final words.. [poetically crafted by Elana K. Arnold, performed to heartrending resonance by Kira Fixx]
April 29, 2026
Review of an ARC from mermaid books youth advisory board
In this gem of a book, Elana K Arnold takes you through a world where time bends, slipping from one year to another. This book explores themes of time travel, love, and loss. Taking you through the philosophical mind of an autistic 18 year old, learning about herself and what family really means, in a year far in the past from her own.
This book really made me feel, and think the coincidences and fabrics of our wormhole of universes.
Thank you to mermaid books for this ARC!
In this gem of a book, Elana K Arnold takes you through a world where time bends, slipping from one year to another. This book explores themes of time travel, love, and loss. Taking you through the philosophical mind of an autistic 18 year old, learning about herself and what family really means, in a year far in the past from her own.
This book really made me feel, and think the coincidences and fabrics of our wormhole of universes.
Thank you to mermaid books for this ARC!
Read
May 8, 2026Graded By: Mandy C.
Cover Story: Collage
BFF Charm: Let Me Love You
Swoonworthy Scale: 7
Talky Talk: In Her Head
Bonus Factors: Neurodivergence, Signs of the Times
Anti-Bonus Factor: Dan Scott Award for Awful Parenting
Relationship Status: You’re in My Heart
Read the full book report here.
Cover Story: Collage
BFF Charm: Let Me Love You
Swoonworthy Scale: 7
Talky Talk: In Her Head
Bonus Factors: Neurodivergence, Signs of the Times
Anti-Bonus Factor: Dan Scott Award for Awful Parenting
Relationship Status: You’re in My Heart
Read the full book report here.
May 7, 2026
DNF - got about an hour into the audiobook and not much is happening, lots of introspection - very slow.
I usually like this author very much, maybe I will try again in print.
Nora autistic/neurodivergent at Halloween festival, confirmed at min 37 by Nora herself
Everyone needs a way to soothe themselves
Are we made real by being known and loved without others to affirm it?
I usually like this author very much, maybe I will try again in print.
Nora autistic/neurodivergent at Halloween festival, confirmed at min 37 by Nora herself
Everyone needs a way to soothe themselves
Are we made real by being known and loved without others to affirm it?
May 7, 2026
What a stunning ride of a book. This one will stick with me for a long while.
Check out my full review at Forever Young Adult.
Check out my full review at Forever Young Adult.
November 23, 2025
Was lucky enough to read this early. A surprising, philosophical, moving work of speculative YA. Keep an eye out for this one when it releases!
May 9, 2026
4.75⭐️
Loved the characters and story. The writing was beautiful and lyrical, but felt a bit too flowery at times, which took away from the narrative
Loved the characters and story. The writing was beautiful and lyrical, but felt a bit too flowery at times, which took away from the narrative
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
I loved this one and it would make a fine audio, though "time travel" in the description makes it sound other than it is. in pandemic 2021, 18YO autistic Nora-raised until she's eight by her loving gran, then by her distant, disapproving, anti-vax mother-journeys back in time via an ancient track, the titular holloway. There she discovers who she is, makes relative peace with her mother, and ultimately finds a loving community to belong to in 1946 France. Thoughtful, beautifully structured and written. Recommended to teens who appreciate a deep, complex story and to adults as well.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews