Before we share info about this month’s book, we want to recognize that this month’s “Community Kindness Sponsor” (which helps offset the cost of the extra 20 book bundles we’ll be hiding after scavenger hunt weekend this month – the “random act of kindness” books) is our friends at Yeet That Teet! In recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness month, we are so grateful for their support in creating a bookish community rooted in kindness.

Do you know someone who might be interested in partnering with us as a Community Kindness Sponsor in 2027 ($250)? We are looking ahead to secure sponsors for 2027 (because, as we know, time flies!). Please send us an email (tucsontomegnome[at]gmail.com), and we can send you some information 🙂

FINALLY! We are raising money to keep hiding books in 2027! If you want to support our work beyond sponsorship, please consider making a donation (link below) to help us keep going for another five years! And truly, all donations of any size make a difference.

https://givebutter.com/hiding-books-in-2027-jlgpqm

AND NOW, for what you’ve been waiting for: all about this month’s hidden book(s)!

About the book from Tin House:

“In 1980s Appalachia, sisters Sheila and Angie couldn’t be more different. While their mother works long shifts at the nearby asylum, Sheila cares for their home and keeps to herself, even when enduring relentless bullying. Her fearless younger sister, Angie, is more focused on fighting imaginary zombies and creating tarot-like cards that seem to have minds of their own. When the brutal murder of two female hikers on the nearby Appalachian Trail stuns their small community, the sisters find themselves tangled in a dangerous game of cat and mouse. Angie discovers a ripped, blood-soaked shirt; money Sheila’s been stashing away disappears; and a strange man tries to barter with a woman’s watch at a local store. As the threat of violence looms larger, the mysterious, ancient mountain they live on—and their willingness to trust each other—might be the only things that can save these sisters from the darkness consuming their home.

In turns both terrifying and otherworldly, author Alisa Alering opens the door to the hidden world of Smothermoss—a mountain that sighs, monsters made of ink, rabbits dead and alive, and ropes that won’t come undone. Unsettling, propulsive, and wonderfully atmospheric, Alering’s stunning debut novel renegotiates what is seen and unseen, what is real and what is haunted.”

About the author, Alisa Alering:

“Alisa Alering is the author of the novel Smothermoss (Tin House, 2024), a Shirley Jackson Award Finalist that the New York Times Book Review calls “a compulsive journey through a wild, unknowable landscape and the wilder hearts of young girls.” A former librarian and science and technology reporter, they grew up in the Appalachian mountains of Pennsylvania and now live in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona.

Alisa is the winner of the Great Lakes Colleges Association (GLCA) New Writers Award in Fiction (2026) and was the 2025 Joan Perry Barnes Fellow for Crime Fiction at Storyknife Writers Retreat. They have served as a faculty mentor for the Whole Novel Workshop (2019-2020, 2024), Whole Novel Workshop Historical (2021-2023), Whole Novel Workshop for Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror (2023-2025), all through Boyds Mills. They teach workshops on intuitive writing, worldbuilding, and finding happiness as a writer. They are also a developmental editor and writing coach, guiding students in finding the true heart of their story.”

Why we selected this book for our October 2026 scavenger hunt:

• Smothermoss is an unsettling but incredibly compelling story about two sisters fighting to save their mountain from a killer… and the dark forces that linger there. Their often-fraught relationship reveals just how complicated and beautiful the bond between sisters can be.
• This story contains beautiful, lyrical writing with a fairy-tale feel. I love how Alisa leaves readers wondering what actually happened to this family. The pacing is perfect, too – – – this one is a page-turner, for sure!
• SUPPORT LOCAL! This book has a special local connection! Alisa Alering is a Tucson author, and I love having the opportunity to share work by writers in our own community.
• It’s October (our favorite spooky month!) and this book includes a little bit of everything a spooky book needs: a creepy hospital, mysterious characters, possible paranormal activity, lost time, and a killer on the loose. Add the fall setting of the Appalachian Mountains in the 1980s, and you have a wonderfully eerie atmosphere full of dread and tension.
• Finally, this book has a little something for everyone: part gothic mystery, part dark fairy tale, and part coming-of-age story. Smothermoss blurs the line between the real and the uncanny. I hope these books find readers ready for something strange, beautiful, and perfect for the season!