At the End of the River Styx

June 17, 2024
Zan has been leading marked souls to the Styx to be consumed after death in service to the Ferryman for 499 years.
He only has one year left in the bargain
he made to save his mother’s life, after which he will be reborn into contemporary society. Meanwhile, in Portland, Ore., teenage Bash has spent months reliving memories of the car accident in which his mother died, drifting away from his friends and his seemingly put-together twin. When Bash dreams about the Styx, Zan discovers that Bash is a wayward soul marked for the Ferryman. As the teens grow closer over the course
of several dreams—and as Bash becomes increasingly eager to return to the Styx—Zan frantically searches for a way to keep Bash alive, even if it means sacrificing everything he’s worked five centuries to achieve. Zan’s paranormal grapples with the Ferryman help to accentuate the
narrative’s gothic elements while Bash’s struggles to be present in his own life—along with the myriad bittersweet realities surrounding grief this challenge entails—add texture to Kulwicki’s captivating queer romance debut. Bash and Zan cue as white. Ages 14–up. Agent: Connor Eck, Lucinda Literary.

July 15, 2024
Two boys from different worlds find one another through grief. In Greece 499 years ago, 18-year-old Zan sacrificed himself to the Ferryman of the River Styx to save his mother's life. His centuries spent leading souls to the Ferryman are nearly up when something unexpected happens a year before his servitude ends: He meets Bastian, a boy living in present-day Portland, Oregon, who's deeply troubled by the untimely death of his own mother. Zan has one job: to lead Bastian to the ghoulish Ferryman, who will devour his soul. But something about Bastian is different. Bastian's friends and twin brother are determined to help him heal from the trauma of losing his mother. He keeps finding Zan in what initially seem to be recurring dreams, but as Bastian finds himself drawn further into Zan's world (which is cobbled together from past souls' memories), the two find their connection growing. Zan must decide whether he can sacrifice Bastian to the Ferryman and finally end his sentence--or serve for 500 more years. Bastian, meanwhile, must consider his own mortality. Told in alternating perspectives, this queer contemporary spin on Greek mythology is a thoughtful portrait of grief and healing. Bastian's guilt and sadness are palpable and will resonate with readers as they cheer him on. Bastian is racially ambiguous; his mother had "warm ochre" skin. Poignant and hopeful.(Fiction. 14-18)

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Starred review from August 1, 2024
Grades 9-12 *Starred Review* Eighteen-year-old Bastian hates himself. Ever since he was driving and a terrible car accident killed his mother, he has been plagued by nightmares of walking down a gray tunnel with mirrored black water beneath his feet while hearing a voice saying, "Name and location of death?" Finally, in one nightmare, he comes to a door; when it opens, he finds a boy his age, the source of the voice asking the question. His name is Zan, and, Bastian will learn, he has been a servant of the Ferryman (Charon) for 499 years. His job is to guide souls to the Ferryman, who then eats them. Zan tells Bastian that he is marked for death, but Zan doesn't guide him to the Ferryman, because (he thinks to himself) Bastian had looked at him like he was something real. He'd listened like he was real. Speaking of real: in another plot strand, Bastian has bought a run-down used bookstore and is busy restoring it. Meanwhile, his dreams continue, and gradually he and Zan fall in love. But how can their relationship endure? Kulwicki has written a superb book with a brilliantly original plot, characters to fall in love with, a monster of pure evil in the Ferryman, and breathtaking suspense that is to die for. It is, altogether, a must-read.

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