Overview

In the cemetery at Thornwood Asylum, two girls meet when a door between the 19th and 21st centuries miraculously opens. In 2022, Annie Blake's world is shattered when her father suffers a psychotic break and ends up in Thornwood Hospital. Annie's father, an architect and activist, is trying to save Thornwood from developers who want to bulldoze the historic site and deprive the community of a vital mental health resource. Desperate to help her father, Annie struggles to find proof that a famous reformer was once incarcerated there. In 1856, Mary Donovan and her younger brother are separated when they're committed to Thornwood Lunatic Asylum. Mary fights to find her brother and escape, but is caught and suffers abusive treatment from staff, until the director of the asylum takes her under his wing. Dr. Jonathan Blackwell plans to groom Mary as his ""success story"" to help build his reputation in exchange for allowing Mary to see her brother. When both girls are driven to their breaking points, they flee to Thornwood cemetery where the border between their worlds opens and they encounter each other face to face. Can they find a way to trust and help each other before time runs out?

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9781949140583

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Reviews

""SAVING THORNWOOD takes on two weighty subjects-the awful history of mental health care institutions in the U.S. and the need for accessible and destigmatizing mental health care today-but the voices of its two main characters make the topic feel lived-in and approachable. Its nineteenth-century narrator, Mary, trapped in Thornwood Asylum, is as fierce as they come. Modern-day Annie, who is navigating her dad's new mental health diagnosis, is Mary's match in thoughtfulness and care for those she loves. Watching the two girls interact through their supernatural meetings, as well as through the interplay of history, was fascinating and moving."" Erica Waters, author of All That Consumes Us ""A gripping tale of courage and connection, where the haunting past of a crumbling asylum intertwines with the present, revealing the indomitable spirit of those who refuse to be forgotten in a system designed to silence them."" Christopher Barzak, author of Wonders of the Invisible World ""Gritty, gothic, and compelling, this tale of mental health stigma and friendship boasts two lead heroines who give SAVING THORNWOOD its driving heartbeat. A moody, dual narrative across time that will appeal to modern readers. Highly recommended!"" Gaby Triana, author of Moon Child, Wake the Hollow, And RIVER of Bones ""SAVING THORNWOOD bridges the gap between gothic and wonder, the supernatural and sanity, heart and horror, casting its own mysterious web that tethers the centuries together and fastens the reader to this spellbinding book. You'll never want to leave Thornwood once you're finished reading it."" Clay McLeod Chapman, author of Wake Up and Open Your Eyes ""This is time travel at its most believable and most entertaining. A fascinating look into the stigma of mental illness then and now, and a real tribute to the power of young women across different eras to overcome helplessness and not only form their own futures but rescue those they care about."" Mary Carroll Moore, best-selling award-winning author of Last Bets and A Woman's Guide to Search & Rescue

""Saving Thornwood is a riveting YA novel with thoughtful characters who are navigating intense personal crises while also aching for friendship. There are some mysteries to solve, especially with Annie, who must find a way to prove that Mary was a Thornwood patient to help save the modern hospital. There are also the mechanics of their connection and how it works, which produce more than a few humorous moments. (Cellphones! Ice cream! Shorts and tank tops!) But just when readers think they have the story figured out, Rust and Surface throw in a plot curveball that took me completely by surprise and changes everything. The result is a thoroughly satisfying read with a well-earned ending. Kudos to both authors for tackling a difficult subject and not only handling it with great respect but providing a banger of a novel in the process. ""Julia Rust and David Surface deliver a gripping tale of courage and connection, where the haunting past of a crumbling asylum intertwines with the present, revealing the indomitable spirit of those who refuse to be forgotten in a system designed to silence them."" COLLEEN MONDOR -- LOCUS MAGAZINE - November 2025 ""Gritty, gothic, and compelling, this tale of mental health stigma and friendship boasts two lead heroines who give SAVING THORNWOOD its driving heartbeat. A moody, dual narrative across time that will appeal to modern readers. Highly recommended!"" Gaby Triana, author of Moon Child, Wake the Hollow, And RIVER of Bones ""SAVING THORNWOOD bridges the gap between gothic and wonder, the supernatural and sanity, heart and horror, casting its own mysterious web that tethers the centuries together and fastens the reader to this spellbinding book. You'll never want to leave Thornwood once you're finished reading it."" Clay McLeod Chapman, author of Wake Up and Open Your Eyes ""This is time travel at its most believable and most entertaining. A fascinating look into the stigma of mental illness then and now, and a real tribute to the power of young women across different eras to overcome helplessness and not only form their own futures but rescue those they care about."" Mary Carroll Moore, best-selling award-winning author of Last Bets and A Woman's Guide to Search & Rescue

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