Nestled in the foreboding backwoods of Virginia, Madame Eldridge's behavior program promotes only three official rules:
Firstly, what happens here stays here.
Secondly, all eight steps must be completed, no ifs, ands, or buts.
Thirdly, each boy is referred to by his problem, not his name.
There is one unspoken rule: don't enter the forbidden third floor bedroom which belonged to a boy who disappeared from the house eons ago.
The warning didn't stop Vandalize from breaking into the room, or Stealer from taking something. As the unruly boys discover bewitched artifacts with unusual abilities, they discreetly use them to complete Madame Eldridge's whimsical challenges. But magic always insists on a price to pay.
When Fibbsy happens upon an object that thrusts him back in time, he uncovers a long-buried secret about Madame Eldridge and the missing boy. But who would ever believe a liar? Bound by the house's enigmatic objects, Fibbsy, Defiance, Slob, and Secret forge a friendship as they venture to unveil the truth behind the the Wayward Home for Unruly Boys; discovering along the way that the problems they were sent to the program to overcome are shrouded in a dark magic all their own.
Second Place
Teens
Second Place
YA Boys & Men
Second Place
Juvenile Boys & Men
Second Place
LGBTQ+ YA