Cackle by Rachel Harrison

Cackle is an imaginative adult fairytale about a woman who has been scorned, has lost confidence in herself and through the help of another woman who is “different” begins a journey to becoming who she was always meant to be…strong and independent. It’s also very witty and sometimes frightening (in more ways than one).

When Annie, a schoolteacher who has been in love with her boyfriend for years gets dumped by him for reasons she cannot understand, she makes the choice to leave New York City where she always thought she had a fabulous, comfortable life, and the boyfriend she always felt made her feel safe. She decides to take a job in upstate New York and finds an apartment in a little village nearby the new school.

She immediately feels some sort of different vibe coming from the townspeople. She enjoys their comraderies, and they always seem so happy. The village is pleasant, beautiful and the people kind. Although she does discover the apartment she is renting does come with an infestation problem, she takes this with a grain of salt as the village is nestled in the woods.

Although Annie tries to move on, she is still miserable, until she meets the most beautiful woman she has ever seen named Sophie. She becomes Annie’s best friend. Yes, Sophie has been in the village for ages (literally), living in a mansion in the woods, and the other residence don’t particularly care for her, and she is quite quirky, but so are the others. But she makes Annie feel alive again and gives her a strength she never knew she had.

The new school has its own problems. The students constantly tease her, and she has very little control over them until an incident occurs which Annie cannot understand. She begins to look at Sophie in a different light. Very different!

As Sophie begins to give Annie life lessons, Annie gets stronger and stronger. But still, in the back of her mind she can’t forget the relationship she left behind. Although Sophie has continuously warned her not to get in touch with her ex, Annie decides to and that’s when all hell freezes over …literally!

Now Annie has a decision to make…her ex or Sophie who has taught her how to live again by taking control back of her own life. And when Sophie gives Annie an ultimatum, well, Annie may never see the light of day again!

The story is suspenseful, imaginative with one surprise after another, many eccentric characters, both human and crawling and about a woman who learns how to empower herself and grow strong and who in the end learns just how to Cackle!