In conversation with Rachel Menard, and Gabi Burton, moderated by Rachel Barry at Presbyterian Church Parish House, 2:30 pm to 3:20 pm
About the author
Riss M. Neilson is a magna cum laude graduate of Rhode Island College, where she won the English department’s Jean Garrigue Award for creative writing. Her debut young adult novel, Deep in Providence, was a 2022 finalist for the New England Book Awards. She has two daughters, a cat, a dog and a bunny named Michael Myers. She was born and raised in Providence. When she’s not writing, she’s watching anime or playing video games with her kids.
MFOB featured book: Deep in Providence
Deep in Providence tells the story of best friends Miliani, Inez, Natalie, and Jasmine, for whom Providence, Rhode Island has a magic of its own. From the bodegas and late-night food trucks on Broad Street to The Hill that watches over the city, every corner of Providence glows with memories of them practicing spells, mixing up potions and doing séances with the help of the magic Miliani’s Filipino grandfather taught her.
But when Jasmine is killed by a drunk driver, the world they have always known is left haunted by grief…and Jasmine’s lingering spirit. Determined to bring her back, the surviving friends band together, testing the limits of their magic and everything they know about life, death, and each other.
And as their plan to resurrect Jasmine grows darker and more demanding than they imagined, their separate lives begin to splinter the bonds they depend on, revealing buried secrets that threaten the people they care about most. Miliani, Inez and Natalie will have to rely on more than just their mystical abilities to find the light.
