The Ginghams - T. C. Kemper

An eerie middle grade mystery debut that follows a young girl who returns home to find the people of her little town, including her best friend, chillingly changed after the arrival of the prim and proper Gingham family.

"A rip-roaring adventure, but more importantly, a kids’ power ballad to the importance of being yourself." —Gordon Korman, New York Times-bestselling author

When 12-year-old Joni Bird returns home from summer camp, it’s clear something strange is afoot in Olive Springs. May, her usually head-banging best friend, now wears her hair in a tight bun and calls playing the drums “unladylike.” The ice cream shop only serves vanilla ice cream. The women and girls of the neighborhood all sport big pearl earrings and crisp cotton dresses.

At the heart of it all? The creepy new family in the neighborhood with their soulless, carnival smiles and retro fashion sense: the Ginghams. Everyone they invite to their Thursday night book club re-emerges as dead-eyed, smiling, Gingham-approved "model citizens," all thanks to Mr. Gingham’s lifestyle guide, The Pillars of Perfection—and something even more sinister hidden behind his basement door.

Through quick thinking and cunning, Joni and her friend Tyler set out to fight not only to get their friend May back, but to save their whole town from forever falling under the Ginghams' control.

"A rip-roaring adventure, but more importantly, a kids’ power ballad to the importance of being yourself." —Gordon Korman, New York Times-bestselling author

"An exuberant celebration of friendship and nonconformity. It will make readers ask, ‘Could something like this happen for real? What if it’s happening now?’" —Margaret Peterson Haddix, New York Times-bestselling author of The Greystone Secrets series

"A wickedly fun, delightfully creepy tale about identity, originality, and the dangers of conformity. I loved it!" —Dan Gemeinhart, bestselling author of The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise

"An eerie adventure where friendship and being true to oneself are the real prize." —Lindsay Currie, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of The Mystery of Locked Rooms and X Marks the Haunt

"Full of creeping dread and alarmingly real threats." —Delilah S. Dawson, New York Times-bestselling author of Camp Scare

"[For] fans of all things sinister and strange." —Jennifer Killick, author of Dread Wood and Crater Lake

"A must-add to everyone's reading list." —Maria Tureaud, award-winning author of The Last Hope in Hopetown

"A tense, dread-filled atmosphere that draws on classic body-snatcher horror." —Publishers Weekly

"Fast-moving and fun popcorn science fiction." —Kirkus