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Vendor
Liepman Literary Agency
Marc Koralnik
Original language
English

ORPHEUS GIRL

Brynne Rebele-Henry

In her debut novel, award-winning poet Brynne Rebele-Henry re-imagines the Orpheus myth as a love story between two teenage girls who are sent to conversion therapy after being caught together in an intimate moment.
Abandoned by a single mother she never knew, 16-year-old Raya—obsessed with ancient myths—lives with her grandmother in a small conservative Texas town. For years Raya has fought to hide her feelings for her best friend and true love, Sarah. When the two are outed, they are sent to Friendly Saviors: a re-education camp meant to “fix” them and make them heterosexual. Upon arrival, Raya vows to assume the role of Orpheus, to return to the world of the living with her love—and after she, Sarah, and the other teen residents are subjected to abusive and brutal “treatments” by the staff, Raya only becomes more determined to escape.

In a haunting voice reminiscent of Sylvia Plath and the contemporary lyricism of David Levithan, Brynne Rebele-Henry weaves a powerful inversion of the Orpheus myth informed by the disturbing real-world truths of conversion therapy. Orpheus Girl is a story of dysfunctional families, trauma, first love, heartbreak, and ultimately, the fierce adolescent resilience that has the power to triumph over darkness and ignorance.


Brynne Rebele-Henry is nineteen years old. Orpheus Girl is her debut novel. Her poetry, fiction, and nonfiction have appeared in such journals as Prairie Schooner, Denver Quarterly, jubilat, Fiction International, Epiphany, and elsewhere. Her writing has won numerous awards, including the 2015 Louise Louis/Emily F. Bourne Poetry Award from the Poetry Society of America, the 2016 Adroit Prize for Prose, and a 2017 Glenna Luschei Award from Prairie Schooner. Her first poetry collection, Fleshgraphs, was published by Nightboat Books in 2016. Her second poetry collection, Autobiography of a Wound, won the 2017 AWP Donald Hall Poetry Prize and was published by the University of Pittsburgh Press in 2018.

Praise for Brynne Rebele-Henry:

“ preternaturally wise teenage wunderkind Rebele-Henry fills her debut collection with fractured, polyvocal, visceral engagements with darkness and pain [her] ability to briefly but fully embody such varied personas indicates a profound emotional intelligence and maturity” – Publishers Weekly

“Her prose is fearless, rich and evocative, thick with detail and presence and confidence, making this one of the most frighteningly-talented debuts I've seen in a very long time.” – Rob McLennan
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Published 2019-10-01 by Soho Teen

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“Wise, startling . . . a poet to watch.”

“A haunting story about exploring what it means to define your true self as those around you try actively to destroy it . . . the novel is powerful and will speak to anyone who has tried desperately to fit in, only to realize that's not what will make them feel complete.”—Booklist