Author: Kaela Rivera

Ryan's dad had a lot of rules:
Never let others see you cry.
Never let people outside of the family hear you speaking Spanish.
But the most important rule of all? Never go into the hungry forest.

Since his father's death, Ryan has worked extra hard to follow his father's rules and be the kind of man his father would be proud of. But Ryan's anger is getting out of control, and he can't seem to stop taking it out on his younger brother Teddy.

When Teddy and Ryan think they hear their father calling them from The Hungry Forest, Ryan ventures in. Teddy was supposed to wait outside, but he didn't listen, and is quickly captured by a terrifying, masked monster.

With no sign of Dad and monsters closing in, one thing is clear: The forest is as cursed as the legends say. If Ryan can't find his brother and escape the woods before sunrise, they'll be trapped there forever. Ryan and Teddy will have to face their fears-and each other-to make it out alive.

Publisher: Macmillan Publishers (MPS)
Published: 08/18/2026
Pages: 256
Binding Type: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781547619221

About the Author

Kaela Rivera was raised to believe in will-o'-the-wisps and el chupacabra, but even ghost stories couldn't stop her from reading in the isolated treetops, caves, and creeks of Tennessee's Appalachian forests. She still believes in the folktales of her Mexican-American and British parents, but now she writes about them from the adventure-filled mountains of the Wild West. Her debut novel, Cece Rios and the Desert of Souls went on to be a multi-award-winning novel, earning multiple starred reviews, showcased on several best-of-the-year lists, and national awards. When she's not crafting stories, she's using her English degree from BYU-I as an editor for a marketing company (or secretly doodling her characters in the margins of her notebook). Her biggest hope is to highlight and explore the beauty of cultural differences-and how sharing those differences can bring us all closer.

https: //www.kaelarivera.com/; @kaelacub (instagram)