A mischievous boy growing up in a Mississippi River town in the nineteenth century impresses his friends and horrifies adults by associating with the son of the town drunk, running away from home, attending his own funeral, witnessing a murder, getting lost in a cave, and finding lost treasure.

Placed in witness protection in remote northern Maine, Leah risks exposing herself to the dangerous forces of her past when her homesick children run away.

During a fight at home, young Max flees and runs away into the woods. He finds a boat there, jumps in, and ends up on the open sea, destination unknown. He lands on the island of the Wild Things, and soon he becomes their king. Based on the storybook by Maurice Sendak and the screen play co-written with Spike Jonze.

"An indelible and haunting new novel that explores the loss of childhood, intergenerational conflict, and humanity's complacency in the face of its own demise. Lydia Millet's multilayered new novel - her first since the National Book Award Longlist Sweet Lamb of Heaven -- follows a group of children and their families on summer vacation at a lakeside mansion. The teenage narrator Eve and the other children are contemptuous of their parents, who spend...