Harvest House

by Cynthia Leitich Smith

NSK Neustadt Laureate and New York Times best-selling author Cynthia Leitich Smith delivers a thrilling cross-genre follow-up to the acclaimed Hearts Unbroken.

Deftly leading readers to the literary crossroads of contemporary realism and haunting mystery, Cynthia Leitich Smith revisits the world of her American Indian Youth Literature Award winner Hearts Unbroken. Halloween is near, and Hughie Wolfe is volunteering at a new rural attraction: Harvest House. He’s excited to take part in the fun, spooky show—until he learns that an actor playing the vengeful spirit of an “Indian maiden,” a ghost inspired by local legend, will headline. Folklore aside, unusual things have been happening at night at the crossroads near Harvest House. A creepy man is stalking teenage girls and young women, particularly Indigenous women; dogs are fretful and on edge; and wild animals are behaving strangely. While Hughie weighs how and when to speak up about the bigoted legend, he and his friends begin to investigate the crossroads and whether it might be haunted after all. As Moon rises on All Hallow’s Eve, will they be able to protect themselves and their community? Gripping and evocative, Harvest House showcases a versatile storyteller at her spooky, unsettling best.

Genres: Young Adult, Horror, Mystery, Indigenous, Fiction, Thriller, Paranormal

320 pages, Hardcover

First published April 11, 2023

About the author

Cynthia Leitich Smith is the New York Times bestselling, award-winning author and anthologist of more than 20 books for young readers. She was named a 2025 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award Candidate, the NSK Neustadt Laureate, Texas Literary Hall of Fame inductee, and winner of the Southern Miss Medallion for Outstanding Contributions in Children’s Literature. Cynthia has also been named to deliver the 2026 ALSC Children’s Literature Lecture. She is the author-curator of Heartdrum, a Native-focused imprint at HarperCollins Children’s Books, and served as the Katherine Paterson Inaugural Chair for the children’s-YA writing MFA program at Vermont College of Fine Arts. Cynthia is a citizen of the Muscogee Nation and lives in Texas.

Reviews

[Zora · Rating 2 out of 5]

YA sort-of horror. While there's a likeable male protagonist, there are a few things wrong with the book. 1) unrealistically perfect family relationships. 2) it's didactic, and often not a story (so much so that I often felt I was trapped at an 8-hour TED talk), and 3) the ending sucks on toast.

The book is about a haunted crossroads, where two spirits, apparently a crime victim and the criminal, haunt people for forty years. Cold winds, stirring up birds, a voice on the wind. However though we are given to believe the victim is yet another native American girl killed by a white guy, this is revealed not to be true. It's just a girl who fell in a snow storm and cracked her head and died. The white male ghost was her boyfriend who loved her very much. So even if we're willing to suspend our rationality for ghost stories (and I am), this one makes not a bloody lick of sense. They're both aware of what happened. They are in communication. The male ghost scares female passersby. The female ghost scares everyone. And why? If you believe in spirits being troubled and that leads to hauntings, this still makes no sense. They have nothing to bitch and (literally) moan about. She died of traumatic brain injury, nobody's fault. He died of exposure during a winter storm, carrying her body. That's their story. And so? Go on to whatever afterlife or oblivion. Why expend all this spectral energy haunting over nothing?? It's as if the author, after giving the eight-hour TED talk, wimps out and doesn't make the ghost a murdered non-white woman, which is what the lecture was about all that time anyway. Jesus fucking christ, was the editor for this thing passed out from heroin or something? Because it really needed the ending changed.

So, barely, a star. I'm not even sure why. I guess because I struggled through to the end, but then the end was so, so awful. The star over one is some kind of pity star, I guess.

[Kristall Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was fine. That's all. Just fine. The characters and the setting and the story itself were fine. It wasn't bad by any means, but it wasn't anything special. The pace was really, really slow, though, and I considered DNFing it several times.

[Patty (IheartYA311) · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was definitely a case of cover love, but the story was disappointing. The pacing and writing were inconsistent. Some parts were rushed while others had more explanation and detail. Sometimes the writing flowed but mostly it was too simple. A lot of potential but a lackluster execution.

[Miss Syreena · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book about visibility and justice. Teens demand recognition despite the challenges in front of them (like standing up to stereotypes and tropes about indigenous people). Some paranormal elements included, but it’s not a scary book at all. The author wanted to bring attention to missing native women and two-spirit people as well as the society that enables these tragedies.

“Respect the true harvest…..Today’s truth becomes tomorrow’s herstory.

Tarot card: 5 of pentacles

[Julia Pika · Rating 2 out of 5]

Got 20% of the way in and struggled too much so I stopped reading. It felt less like a story and more of a non-fiction book.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting blend of theatre, activism, and mystery that wasn't anywhere nearly as scary as I thought it would be based on the cover, and that concluded in a way I did not expect. I appreciated watching Hughie navigate difficult situations, have challenging conversations, and make tough decisions. The creation and execution of the Harvest House was a fun addition, and I really enjoyed reading a YA book with so many healthy relationships - familial, romantic, and friendship-based.

This book is a thoughtful and well-paced blend of mystery and slice of life with a paranormal twist.

Publisher recommended for ages 12-17, grades 7-9

[Lata · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hughie Wolfe volunteers at a new attraction in town: Harvest House. It's intended to be a fun and spooky place to visit on Halloween. Hughie is pumped, but pretty soon finds that the director has many unpalatable, racist plans for the place, and there's also someone stalking teenage girls nearby.

Hughie has to find it within himself to speak up about his concerns, and to find out more about the disappearances of a teenager some years before.

Cynthia Leitich Smith returns with a story of friendship, bigotry, ghosts, and old crimes. Hughie is a great character, and how he grows over the months, and deals with the things bothering him is great. It was also great seeing so many well-drawn and positive relationships Hughie is in with his family, his friends, and his new possible girlfriend.

[Ona Rain · Rating 2 out of 5]

I felt the need to right a review for this book because i never usually give a book 2 stars but I had high expectations for this book based on the cover and past reviews, but after I read it, I was sad because of the blandness. So, in my opinion, I would not read this, and if I didn't already have the book, I would have dnf'd the book.

I appreciate the time the author put into the book trying to show native american experience, but this was bland, and I just thought that Hughie was bratty about not getting what he wants and how she wrote his character. I was sad that there was really no character development.

I felt like I was waiting for me to have a connection to Hughie's character, but he really just felt like a bratty teenage boy who has opinions and gets whatever he wants, and something doesn't go his way he blames the teacher and calls her racist even though she was taking as many suggestions as possible.

The ending was a bland piece of chicken when I was thinking it would eventually be gourmet. Overall, I would not read this again, and I wouldn't read this book if you were trying to read about the native American experience.

[Mia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was happily surprised to learn this was a novel about Indigenous Peoples and their fight against exploited women and bigotry.
Teenagers, ghosts, and haunted houses- what's not to love. Great writing, I look forward to reading more from this author!

[Shantel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good story! I listened to it because my daughter has been wanting to find horror/mystery style books and I need to read them to ensure the climate of the book. I think she will love it and it will give us a chance to talk about indigenous people and give her a better understanding of when I say, "stay true to you." Hughie did that in this story and I'm so proud of him. Just goes to show some adults don't have the best judgment and think kids should go along with everything they say. Really great and moving story!

[Elizabeth Seals · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm struggling to put my thoughts into this review, so bear with me.
What I Liked:
How Cynthia weaved a story about Missing and Murdered Native women and Two-Spirit people.
This book was about visibility, justice, and activism.

What I Wasn't a Fan Of:
I expected more horror from this novel than I got.
The plot was all over the place.
I wanted more chapters from Celeste.
I wasn't a fan of switching from 1st to 3rd Person in Celeste and Hughie's chapters.

[ElphaReads · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a bit of a mixed bag for me. The things that worked for me generally worked pretty well, as I thought that this book did a great job of talking about and tackling issues regarding racism and appropriation towards Indigenous people and their culture and experiences. I also liked the way that Smith talked about the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women/2 Spirits Epidemic, and how it was incorporated into this novel in a way that addresses indifference and ignorance from people outside the community. But the stumble for me is that it didn't really feel like we got into the horror elements of the story as deeply as I would have liked until we were pretty close to the end of the book. For this being marketed as a horror novel it didn't have the more traditional aspects of a horror novel that I expected. It just needed a little more oomph in that regard. Overall, however, I generally would recommend it.

[Leigh · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this, but truthfully, I did not. It was a book I grudge finished, b/c despite the fact I just wasn't that into it, I *needed* to know how it ended, even if the ending wasn't all that great. And it wasn't all that great.

[Jessica Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Indigenous authors are finally, FINALLY getting a smidge of the recognition they deserve, and I'm glad I got around to one of Leitich-Smith's novels. Hughie is a Native American high schooler who has no idea what to do with himself now that his beloved theatre program has been cut and there's no fall play. But his new friend Sam invites him to help out at his mom's friend's new haunted house to raise money to pay off her medical bills. But something has been targeting and scaring young, Native or Native-looking girls at the crossroads where Harvest House is set to happen, and Hughie, Sam and his friends are determined to find out what's going on.

The first half of this book starts off pretty slow, and I did not think I liked it at all. I'm very glad I stuck it out and finished it because it's got a really important message that Indigenous activists have been discussing for years that hasn't made its way to mainstream yet. I appreciate the conflict in Hughie sticking with the haunted house despite Ms. Fischer repeatedly adding offensive Native tropes and brushing it off like it's not a big deal- we see how Hughie struggles to come to terms with keeping his word, not wanting to be the only one who is always fighting this same battle, how it affects his relationship with Marie. It gives a very clear view into the insidious, creeping nature of racism and particularly how that affects young people. I think the author's note is worth reading even if you don't read the book; the author puts such care into the way the story is told and highlights certain aspects of the failure of white people, specifically those in power and in law enforcement, to fully investigate and seek justice for crimes against Indigenous people and particularly MMIWG2S. The author does an amazing job of speaking to the importance of this while also providing an example of an Indigenous woman who had joy and love in her life and her ending not being an example of something so awful. I think this is an important book and is written in an accessible way for young people, even possibly for middle-grade readers.

[Shan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I honestly think so many of the low ratings for this book, opining about the pace or the ghost-story aspect falling flat because of how the ending explained what actually happened to the ghost, are missing the entire point of this book. Did any of you read the Author’s Note? Maybe that will help aid your understanding of the messaging, the underlying context. You don’t really have to read between the lines for it, it’s all there in Hughie’s head, it’s on the page. I thought this book was brilliant, and it carried some incredibly strong and powerful messaging.

[TIFFY ⭐️🥂 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved everything in this book and what our main character stood for and believed in just amazing and the small romance we do see wish there was a bit more but also loved the spooky mystery of the ghost who was haunting a cross road area and why..

[Sharon Skinner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciated the look inside the Native American culture this book offers. Whlie there is emotional resonance in this story, it didn't quite take me as deeply as I would have liked. Overall, though, a solid read.

[Barb reads......it ALL! · Rating 3 out of 5]

Taking a bit of a break from #NonfictionNovember to celebrate #IndigenousHeritageMonth

Book 1 of #IndigenousHeritageMonth

[Cherith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe more like a 3 (especially the prose) but rounding up for the MMIW YA content

[Brooke Bitzan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The concept was awesome, the follow through was amazing

It was really nice reading about Native American Main Characters & the message about MMIW hit especially hard for me because my family just finally got some closure on the death of one of my Native Aunties. I was truly worried her case would fall to the wayside because the town she lived in is predominantly white.

I will say that because I read this in Audiobook form, the beginning's POV switch confused me more than it had any right to.

[Fritz Bolme · Rating 2 out of 5]

I personally did not like this book, but that’s only because of the style. The writing itself was good and the story was okay.

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love a good ghost story with a lot of heart.

[The Library Ladies · Rating 3 out of 5]

(originally reviewed at thelibraryladies.com )

One of the most confounding book moments of 2023 thus far was I was having a hell of a time remembering a certain book that ran across my timeline. I am the kind of person who, when I see a book in passing that sounds interesting but doesn’t REALLY process in my brain so well, tells myself that SURELY I don’t need to make note of said book, because surely I will remember it. That’s what happened with “Harvest House” by Cynthia Leitich Smith. I saw it on Goodreads, thought ‘oh that sounds neat’, and then kept scrolling… and couldn’t remember it for a good long while. But eventually I did find it and tossed it on my request list, post haste! A Halloween haunted house attraction mixed with an actual ghost story with themes of Indigenous issues in the United States sounded really promising. The latter part of that description worked well, but the former? Not as much as I had hoped.

Like most of the time I will start with the things that did work. I really appreciated how Smith brings up themes of racism and appropriation towards and from Indigenous groups in American society, especially within a Halloween context. Lord knows every year the message ‘my culture is not a costume’ is ever relevant as you see people STILL dressing up in offensive Indigenous stereotypes and using imagery that is important to the culture said people are not a part of. I liked that our protagonist Hughie was grappling with this while volunteering at a town haunted house attraction, that wants to use a local legend of the ghost of an Indigenous girl as one part of the experience, as well as an ‘Indian burial ground’. Hughie is deeply uncomfortable with this, and his boss, Ms. Fischer, just doesn’t understand why these depictions are offensive and insensitive, and this part of the book is a great way to work through why these things are as such. I also kind of liked that Ms. Fischer, while completely clueless, wasn’t a moustache twirling villain, as it approaches the topic in a way that shows that sometimes this kind of racism comes from ignorance as opposed to malevolence, but still needs to be called out. The more contemporary YA elements of this book really clicked with me.

But here is the flip side of all that. I definitely picked this book up in part because I like books that have relevant things to say when it comes to social issues, but I ALSO picked it up because it sounded like it was going to be, ultimately, a ghost story with some horror-centric moments that weave in and out with the messages at hand. But unfortunately, I didn’t feel like the horror elements of “Harvest House” were prevalent enough. We do get some good first person perspective moments from Celeste, the ghost of an Indigenous young adult who is haunting The Crossroads, but it took until probably the last fifth of the book for there to be actual solid interactions between the ghost moments and Hughie. We do get a second hand account of another character encountering something strange at the Crossroads (with description of an online video), but it doesn’t last long, and then there are no more ghostly interactions until much later. It just didn’t feel like there was enough horror throughout the novel. I would say that perhaps removing the ghostly stuff and just stuck with the mystery about what happened at the Crossroads as the sole focus, but even that was abruptly wrapped up in one scene which felt more like an afterthought than anything else. I really just wanted more.

So while I really liked the social justice themes that were in this book, “Harvest House” felt less like a horror novel and more like a contemporary story with some supernatural stuff tacked on. A bit of a disappointment on the horror front, but still a read with some important points to make.

[Evie · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Harvest House” follows Hughie Wolfe as he investigates mysterious and unsettling events unfolding at the crossroads near the haunted house attraction where he is volunteering. The haunted house event is a fundraiser, and Hughie gets involved after the fall school play is canceled. While helping his teacher curate and prepare the attractions, Hughie confronts multiple microaggressions against Indigenous people, often stemming from ignorance and a dismissive “it’s not that big of a deal” attitude.

Hughie is vocal about the harm and hurt caused by these stereotypes and bravely addresses his concerns with his teacher. For example, the teacher is eager to feature the ghost of an Indigenous American girl as part of the haunted house setup, unaware of how harmful this stereotype is. The “haunted Indian burial ground” trope is one of the most overused and harmful stereotypes in literature and movies. For further insight, I highly recommend Nick Medina’s “Indian Burial Ground” and his interviews exploring this issue.

But I digress. The mystery at the heart of this story is compelling. Decades ago, a young Indigenous woman went missing at the crossroads. More recently, another young woman was attacked there. Strange phenomena, often involving oddly behaving animals, also occur at this exact spot.

As the story unfolds, we follow Hughie’s journey to uncover the mystery of the crossroads, interspersed with first-person glimpses from Celeste, the spirit of a girl who disappeared there years ago. The family dynamics are beautifully depicted—I especially appreciated the bond Hughie shares with his relatives.

Overall, this is a well-plotted and meaningful read. It’s not a horror story but rather a contemporary YA novel with elements of mystery.

[Andrea Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A spooky mystery with a side of micro(and not-so-micro)agressions.

Riding high on his starring role in the spring play, Hughie starts the school year ready to start work on the fall one. However, he's in for a disappointment; the budget's been slashed and there won't be a play. New friend Sam suggests he volunteer to help at Harvest House, a new Halloween attraction that's raising funds for a community member's medical bills, and Hughie commits to the project. He regrets his promise when he finds out the owner's plan to theme the whole thing around a racist "Indian burial ground" trope and local stories about a ghost at the crossroads. But Hughie's a man of his word, and helping out at the Harvest House means he can keep an eye out for the creeper that's been bothering Brown girls near the crossroads. Is there something more to the story than just a creepy drunk? And can he work from within to get the racist tropes out of Harvest House?

I listened to the audiobook edition of this book. I was not a big fan of Shaun Taylor-Corbett's narration. The third-person narration was great, but the character voices used for dialog were cartoonish and distracting, often pulling me right out of the story with an involuntary cringe. Taylor-Corbett is a respected narrator and I've enjoyed his work elsewhere, but it was difficult to listen to here.

Thank you to Penguin Random House Audio and Libro.fm for giving me a an advance listening copy of this book through Libro.fm's Librarian ALC program.

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is really such a good book. It can be hard to read tho in that sense of it is deep and gets you thinking. How many stories you’ve heard about Natives and how they’re portrayed as the villain. How there are these “evil” Indian burial grounds. How natives are reportedly extinct. When reality is people tried to get rid of so many tribes cultures, languages, and traditions, but in the end Natives are still here and still fighting to gain back was taken from them. There are people out there who are trying to get Indigenous history put back into history books. That they are trying to undue decades of villainisation.

Things we could do: maybe we should think twice about celebrating certain authors, artists, etc. who have helped propagate stereotypes about Natives. We should openly talk about the injustice that has happened and is continuing to happen to them. And stay true to what you say you’ll do. Do the activism, do the educating yourself, and don’t make exceptions bc it’ll make someone uncomfortable. This can be applied to many other oppressions happening in our world.

Back to the story: This is a ghost story but not in a ghost trying to scare you or kill you kind of way. It’s not horror and it has some thriller it in it. It’s more somber in its storytelling. I’m not sure how you would classify it.

My favorite line was on page 281, “Maybe everyone is a little bit haunted, he thought. Maybe, dead or alive, that’s part of what being human is all about.”

[Bailey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ultimately, I enjoyed this. The author did a great job highlighting an important and often overlooked social issue in a very accessible and engaging way for teen readers. I loved the way Hughie was given space to draw his own boundaries and decide when and how to stand up for himself and his community. I also loved how clear it was made that there isn't a single, overarching Indigenous monoculture and that multiple tribes/affiliations and backgrounds were given space to exist here.

There were a handful of times that the dialogue felt a little hokey, and the pacing felt off (and I wish it had been spookier) but those issues weren’t enough to turn me off it completely. Honestly, I think this book (and its companion, “Hearts Unbroken”) would make great picks for tweens ready to start venturing into the world of young adult fiction. I know the author also has middle grade books out there, and I think that is the prevailing tone of her YA titles as well.

Though they are both much darker than this book, I’d recommend “Hollow Fires” by Samir’s Ahmed for similar ghost story/social commentary vibes and “Warrior Girl Unearthed” by Angeline Boulley for another story of Indigenous youth fighting for justice for their communities.

[Chris G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Muskogee sophomore Hughie is well known at his school, partly for his starring role in the school play the previous year, and also for turning down a part in a production of “The Wizard of Oz” because of the racist actions of the author. Budget cuts to the drama department leave Hughie with time to help with a haunted house community fundraiser, to work with friends at school who are investigating the harassment of young Native women at the Crossroads, and to begin a relationship with crush Marie. The author skillfully weaves together the issue of missing and murdered indigenous women, a playwriting contest, and the complexity of combating racism in the hostile and the clueless. Lovingly depicted complex indigenous families are a highlight. EARC from Edelweiss.

[Audrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yay! Hughie's story! Loved how Hughie had to navigate not being in the fall theatre program and volunteering to set up a haunted house for the season and learning that a creepy man was terrorizing Indigenous women. And, how Smith effortlessly wove in the issue of missing Indigenous women/girls with little law enforcement investigation. And, Hughie navigating his first love was just so sweet. I would recommend reading Hearts Unbroken before this to get more of the Wolfe family dynamics.

I received an arc from the publisher but all opinions are my own.

[Kibby · Rating 2 out of 5]

I agree with some of the other reviewers that this reads like a TED talk of critical race theory. I only made it a quarter of the way through before I was too annoyed by the canned negativity towards everything in education and decided to spend my time on something more worth while. I feel sad that this is what our young people are inundated with.