she isn’t herself tonight

Out now: She Isn’t Herself Tonight

Watch the skies, your mirror, and especially your heart, because She Isn’t Herself Tonight is out today from Saga/Simon and Schuster!

I always knew that if I ever wrote a weird girl lit book, it would involve alien abductions, and here we are. I’m so pleased with the early positive reception for Rabbit’s story. Writing this book felt like dancing on a bridge railing. It was a departure and yet deeply personal too, and I could not predict how it would land. I’m so glad Rabbit’s heart can beat with others’ hearts too.

“Using aliens to explore alienation, She Isn’t Herself Tonight brilliantly turns abduction narratives on their heads. Piper continues to outdo herself.“

– Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“This book works from its first page straight through to its satisfyingly shocking final lines.“

– Booklist (starred review)

When Rabbit was ten years old, she was abducted by aliens. Then, it happened again when she was twenty. Now thirty, she’s ready for their next visit. What she isn’t prepared for is her boyfriend callously ending their long-term relationship and ejecting her from their shared home.

When Rabbit was ten years old, she was abducted by aliens. Then, it happened again when she was twenty. Now thirty, she’s ready for their next visit. What she isn’t prepared for is her boyfriend callously ending their long-term relationship and ejecting her from their shared home.

As her birthday approaches, the aliens still haven’t arrived. Rabbit descends into a spiral of growing paranoia and bizarre bodily transformations, until soon it seems that even her reflection has a mind of its own. With her only refuge being the chaos of strangers who might not have her best interests at heart, Rabbit worries that her ex’s abandonment not only severed her from his life, but also from her own. Struggling to orient herself within a world growing more topsy-turvy by the day, Rabbit must regain control so that her aliens can return at last.

audiobook narrated by Jenn Lee

“A propulsive, thrillingly strange genre-bending novel full of yearning, that’s magically poignant, earnest, squirmy, and unsettling in equal measure. Blissfully twisted and genuinely heartfelt.“

– Rachel Harrison, New York Times bestselling author of Play Nice and So Thirsty

“What does it mean to be chosen—and does being chosen mean that you belong? This is the question pulsing at the center of She Isn’t Herself Tonight. Eerie and heartfelt by turns, it’s an ode to choosing who we are, who we love, and how we live.”

– Mollyhall Seeley, author of We Hexed the Moon

“Among delicious thrills, wicked surprises, and wondrous weirdness, Hailey Piper has crafted a keenly stirring story of transformation and self-discovery. She Isn’t Herself Tonight will grip you and hold on long after its final words.”

– Gerardo Sámano Córdova, author of Monstrilio

Publishers Weekly starred review: She Isn’t Herself Tonight

Thrilled to the stars to share that She Isn’t Herself Tonight has received a starred review from Publishers Weekly!

“Using aliens to explore alienation, She Isn’t Herself Tonight brilliantly turns abduction narratives on their heads. Piper continues to outdo herself.”

I’m so grateful to see the early love for Rabbit (and her ordeal) and I’m excited for readers to discovery the psychological alien abduction mess of She Isn’t Herself Tonight on October 27th.

 

Semi-related (because readers and publisher alike have been relating this movie with the above novel), I had an article in Darker Times last month, “Obsession and the Paradox of Sex Scene Discourse.“

Cover reveal: She Isn’t Herself Tonight

A few sleuthing readers have found this ahead of time, but today’s the official announcement day: I have a new book coming from Saga near Halloween!

She Isn’t Herself Tonight is probably best described as my weird girl lit book, or if you like comparisons better, Saint Maud by way of The X-Files. It’s somewhat literary fiction, somewhat psychological horror, and all heart, one of those stories I just needed pulled out of me, perhaps by UFOs.

The cover art is by the wonderful Caroline Johnson, who also was the artist behind the cover for last year’s A Game in Yellow.

She Isn’t Herself Tonight will haunt your night skies on October 27th!

“A propulsive, thrillingly strange genre-bending novel full of yearning, that’s magically poignant, earnest, squirmy, and unsettling in equal measure. Blissfully twisted and genuinely heartfelt.”

– Rachel Harrison, New York Times bestselling author of Play Nice and So Thirsty

Available for pre-order at: Bookshop, Barnes and Noble, LibroFM, Amazon, Simon and Schuster

When Rabbit was ten years old, she was abducted by aliens. Then, it happened again when she was twenty. Now thirty, she’s ready for their next visit. What she isn’t prepared for is her boyfriend callously ending their long-term relationship and ejecting her from their shared home.

As her birthday approaches, the aliens still haven’t arrived. Rabbit descends into a spiral of growing paranoia and bizarre bodily transformations, until soon it seems that even her reflection has a mind of its own. With her only refuge being the chaos of strangers who might not have her best interests at heart, Rabbit worries that her ex’s abandonment not only severed her from his life, but also from her own. Struggling to orient herself within a world growing more topsy-turvy by the day, Rabbit must regain control before her aliens at last return.