The Stillwater Girls

Minka Kent’s domestic thriller, The Stillwater Girls, was first published in 2019. The Stillwater Girls explores human resilience and the impacts of isolation and family secrets through the story of two sisters, Wren and Sage, who have grown up in a secluded forest cabin. Their mother raised them to think of the outside world as dangerous, enforcing strict rules she says are meant to keep the girls safe. When their younger sister Evie falls ill, however, their mother leaves with her, hoping to get her medical care. Months go by, and their mother does not return, leaving Wren—the oldest daughter and one of the novel’s two narrators—struggling to decide whether staying at the cabin or venturing into the wider world represents the greater danger for her and her sister. Wren’s narration alternates with that of Nicolette, a wealthy Upstate New Yorker struggling with questions of her own—about her husband, money missing from her accounts, and a photo of a mysterious child.

This guide refers to the 2019 Thomas & Mercer paperback first edition of the text.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of physical abuse, mental illness, child death, and child abuse.

Plot Summary

Wren Sharp, 19, and her sister Sage, 18, wait in their family’s isolated forest cabin for their mother, Maggie, and youngest sister, Evie, to return.