The Cure for Dreaming

Olivia Mead is a headstrong, independent girl—a suffragist—in an age that prefers its girls to be docile. It’s 1900 in Oregon, and Olivia’s father, concerned that she’s headed for trouble, convinces a stage mesmerist to try to hypnotize the rebellion out of her. But the hypnotist, an intriguing young man named Henri Reverie, gives her a terrible gift instead: she’s able to see people’s true natures, manifesting as visions of darkness and goodness, while also unable to speak her true thoughts out loud. These supernatural challenges only make Olivia more determined to speak her mind, and so she’s drawn into a dangerous relationship with the hypnotist and his mysterious motives, all while secretly fighting for the rights of women. Winters breathes new life into history once again with an atmospheric, vividly real story, including archival photos and art from the period throughout.

Praise for Cat Winter's In The Shadow of Blackbirds
STARRED REVIEW "Winters’s masterful debut novel is an impressively researched marriage of the tragedies of wartime, the 1918 flu epidemic, the contemporaneous Spiritualism craze, and a chilling love story and mystery."
—Publishers Weekly, starred review

STARRED REVIEW "More than anything, this is a story of the breaking point between sanity and madness, delivered in a straightforward and welcoming teen voice."
—Booklist, starred review

STARRED REVIEW "Winters deftly combines mystery, ghost story, historical fiction, and romance. Excellent pacing and deliciously creepy descriptions…”
—School Library Journal, starred review

"This engrossing combination of historical fiction, ghost story, psychological thriller, and straight-up whodunit moves between genres with stunning ease, maximizing the tropes of each to satisfying effect."
—The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"Winters strikes just the right balance between history and ghost story, neatly capturing the tenor of the times, as growing scientific inquiry collided with heightened spiritualist curiosity."
—Kirkus Reviews

"Mary Shelley is a likable, sympathetic heroine, and through her story, teen readers will get a glimpse of a fascinating time period, made all the more real by the haunting historic photographs that pepper the novel, from soldiers in trenches to policemen in gauze masks. Part romance, part mystery and part ghost story, In the Shadow of Blackbirds makes palpable a terrifying time that brought the horror of death into the homes of millions."
—Bookpage

"One of the creepiest (in a good way) covers of the season! What's inside, historical Y.A. set at the time of the Spanish influenza, is equally haunting."
—The Atlantic Wire

“Cat Winter’s debut novel is creepy good.”
—The Boston Globe

"Romance fans will love Stephen’s ghostly visits to Mary Shelley, confirming that their romance is as steamy as ever. Mystery lovers will enjoy the satisfactory resolution of the puzzle. Recommend this title to fans of Libba Bray’s The Diviners."
—VOYA

"In this book, the passion of first love and the paranoia of the times are realistically and movingly rendered."
—The Oregonian

"Beautifully written and absolutely riveting. I enjoyed everything about this book."
—The Statesman Journal

Award Accolades
William C. Morris YA Debut Award Finalist 2014
School Library Journal Best Book of 2013
2014 YALSA's Best Fiction for Young Adults list2013 Bram Stoker Award Nominee2013 Oregon Spirit Book Award Winner, Young Adult category