The secret door in EverGreen high

"The Mysterious Door in Evergreen High" is a haunting middle-grade fantasy about three friends who discover a hidden supernatural garden beneath their school during summer break. When Lily Harper and Mia Chen find an ancient map pointing to a secret location, they're joined by the mysterious Alex Reed, who leads them to a beautiful, impossible greenhouse filled with eternal summer—roses that bleed, lemon trees with perfect fruit, and a marble statue at the heart of a hedge maze.

But the garden's beauty hides a dark hunger. An ancient entity called Verdantia has been feeding on children's wonder for over a century, trapping them in "unfinished summers" and slowly consuming them. Alex has been bringing children to the garden for three years to save his sister Emily, who was taken when she was nine.

As the friends fall deeper under the garden's spell, they must choose between the seductive promise of perfect, endless childhood and the messy, finite reality of growing up. With the help of Principal Kaur—who lost her own best friend to the garden decades earlier—they discover a counter-oath that could break Verdantia's hold forever.

A story about friendship, grief, letting go, and choosing tomorrow over forever, even when forever looks like paradise.

Copyright 2025 Antoinette Schwab. All rights reserved.