Where to Start with Elizabeth Kilcoyne
If you want to dive into the eerie, soil-stained world of Elizabeth Kilcoyne, your path is straightforward but incredibly rich. Start with her debut novel, Wake the Bones (2022). As a standalone young adult Southern Gothic horror story, it is the ultimate showcase of Kilcoyne's signature style: a mixture of lyrical prose, visceral body horror, and deep, quiet moments of human connection.
While Kilcoyne is primarily celebrated for this novel, she also has a background as a poet and playwright. For true completionists, her early poetry provides a fascinating look at the themes of rural Kentucky life, agricultural labor, and family history that she would later expand upon in her fiction. However, for the vast majority of readers, starting and finishing with her main novel is the recommended path.
The Core Masterpiece: Wake the Bones (2022)
Published by Wednesday Books, Wake the Bones is set in the sweltering, humid landscape of rural Kentucky. The story follows nineteen-year-old Laurel Early, a college dropout who returns to her family's tobacco farm. Laurel is deeply connected to the land, but that land is harboring dark, ancient secrets tied to her late mother’s legacy. When a literal walking pile of bones begins to threaten her home and her friends, Laurel is forced to confront both the supernatural horrors in the woods and the painful cycle of generational trauma.
The book is praised for treating its setting not just as a backdrop, but as a living, breathing character. The tobacco fields, the oppressive summer heat, and the whispering woods all contribute to a sense of claustrophobic dread. It is an excellent read for those who enjoy slow-burn mystery, queer representation, and horror that isn't afraid to get dirty and grotesque.
Elizabeth Kilcoyne's Complete Bibliography
Because Kilcoyne's published works span different formats, they can be categorized into standalone fiction and her earlier literary contributions:
- Wake the Bones (2022) – Standalone Novel. The primary entry point for all readers.
- "the tobacco song" (2013) – Poem. Published in Still: The Journal, this piece explores the sensory realities of Kentucky farming and serves as a thematic precursor to her debut novel.
- This Wretched Vessel: Selections from Lexington Poetry Month 2014 – Poetry Anthology. A collection containing local poetry contributions, showcasing her early voice.
What to Know Before You Start
Before cracking open Kilcoyne's work, it helps to set your expectations. Although marketed as Young Adult, Wake the Bones features older teen protagonists (nineteen years old) and deals with heavy crossover themes. Readers should be prepared for explicit depictions of body horror, animal death, decomposition, and themes of grief, abuse, and mental health struggles. The romance in the novel features organic, queer relationships that are central to the characters' emotional lives without being the sole focus of the plot.
Additionally, the magic system in Kilcoyne's writing is soft and folklore-based. Do not expect rigid rules or scientific explanations for the supernatural occurrences; instead, the magic is deeply tied to emotion, memory, and the physical earth of Kentucky.
Where to Go Next: Recommended Read-Alikes
Since Kilcoyne has only one published novel, you will likely find yourself looking for similar stories once you finish. Here are the best book recommendations that capture the same atmosphere, style, and themes:
- Summer Sons by Lee Mandelo: If you loved the "Southern rot" and queer dynamics of Kilcoyne's Kentucky, this academic Southern Gothic novel set in Tennessee is the perfect next step. It deals heavily with grief, haunting legacies, and deep, dark friendships.
- Wilder Girls by Rory Power: For readers who appreciated the visceral body horror and the theme of nature turning corrupt and alien, this YA survival horror novel provides a similarly intense, atmospheric experience.
- A House With Good Bones by T. Kingfisher: If you want more Southern Gothic dread mixed with family secrets, this contemporary novel explores dark ancestral roots and creeping hauntings with a slightly sharper, modern edge.
- The Boatman's Daughter by Andy Davidson: A darker, swampy folk-horror tale that features a strong sense of place, generational curses, and a gritty, visceral style of writing that matches Kilcoyne's prose.