“Richard Mirabella’s debut novel, Brother & Sister Enter the Forest, is an eerie, psychologically devastating novel by any measure, but it’s Mirabella’s careful, emotionally honest rendering of the ever-shifting relationship between older brother, Justin, and younger sister, Willa, that marks this book as a revelation.” —Christopher Bollen, New York Times Book Review

“Mirabella writes about the strange land between fable and reality, and this novel deftly explores the surreal undertones of familiar themes like love and loyalty. Part fantastical horror, part road trip narrative, Brother & Sister Enter the Forest is an uncanny portrait of the lengths we go to protect the people we love.”  —Isle McElroy, Vulture

“A strange, beautiful, and memorable book.” —Adam Vitcavage, Debutiful 

“[A] stunning debut. . . Mirabella […] is a brave writer. . . His prose—which could be described as plain or simple by someone who doesn’t understand its power—is controlled. Mirabella’s sentences ache in their simplicity. . . Mirabella delicately portrays the after effects of trauma, and one of those traumas is a disturbing act of violence that defines the plot. But Mirabella also goes to that brave place: He shows readers the trauma of a mother who is quiet, even patient, in her homophobia. Of classroom bullies who are still around today. Of building a chosen family that disappoints. Of remembering—and not.” —Marissa Higgins, The Rumpus

“This haunting debut is a beautiful but unflinching look at trauma, the lingering effects of injury, and complicated sibling relationships.” —Laura Sackton, BookRiot

“Mirabella’s debut novel—about a pair of once-close siblings and how the bruises of their youth swell into adulthood—is both bracing and a balm, his softly disarming sentences like cotton puffs that absorb the pain of deep cuts.” —Michelle Hart, Electric Literature

“Told with an incredibly steady hand, this novel dissects a tense sibling relationship. Carefully detangling life-shattering events from the pair’s past, the book manages to look straight at its characters and show the shadows behind them. Like the careful dioramas that the sister makes in her spare time, this book is an exquisite creation, made carefully and precisely.” —Bustle

“The title of Richard Mirabella’s debut novel, Brother & Sister Enter the Forest promises the sinister, and Mirabella makes good on the promise. . . Mirabella’s bravery is in taking his readers inside the tortured mind of a man pummeled by mental illness. It’s not uplifting in the way such ‘coming-of-age’ novels are supposed to behave. But it’s part of the larger gay picture and is every bit as worth acknowledging.”  —Tim Pfaff, Bay Area Examiner

“[B]y turns contentious and tender. . . A gripping […] meditation on the difficulties of youth and the salvation that can be found in family.” —Publishers Weekly

“Riveting, relentless, a novel of calm and chilling reserve and accomplishment.”  —Joy Williams, author of Harrow

“A unique, evocative novel that doesn’t shy away from awkwardness and pain. Mirabella’s debut delves into the stubborn, haunted connections between his characters and those they’ve known and loved. A doomed road trip, the aftereffects of an injury. Mirabella’s sentences reveal darkness and truth in the remembered past and the fractured present. A wry, original, new voice in fiction!”  —Rachel B Glaser, author of Paulina & Fran

“This is a gorgeous novel—full of mystery, dread and a deep, melancholy understanding of what it means to love someone who is mentally ill. I was completely captivated.”  —Dan Chaon, author of Sleepwalk

“Richard Mirabella’s debut novel Brother & Sister Enter the Forest doesn’t so much seek understanding as it does carve indelible and brave circles into the depths of desire, violence, loss, and belonging that keep us alive, connected, heartbroken and in love, despite logic or consequence. This novel makes the  world bigger.” —Madeline Ffitch, author of Stay and Fight

“There are so many things to love about Richard Mirabella’s outstanding Brother & Sister Enter the Forest but what I love best is its meticulous attention to atmosphere, by which I mean the music of the book, the soul of it, expressed in its incisive descriptions, its cadence, its dark and tender heart. It’s what revives me every time I pick it up, and it will keep me coming back again and again.” —Paul Lisicky, author of Later: My Life at the Edge of the World