Erin Crosby Eckstine is an author of speculative historical fiction, personal essays, and anything else she's in the mood for. Born in Montgomery, Alabama, Eckstine grew up between the South and Los Angeles before moving to New York City to attend Barnard College. She earned a master's in secondary English education from Stanford University and taught high school English for six years. She lives in Brooklyn with her partner and their cats.

"A poignant story of love, family and friendship [that] celebrates the power of liberation and claiming agency, even in the face of terrifying forces."--People

"A bold, original work of historical fiction that earns its place on any shelf."--Women

"Junie . . . has such a raw beauty that absolutely captivated me. . . . Junie's quiet strength comes from the stark, uncompromising truth of enslavement, creating a tension that kept me completely immersed in her world. Eckstine crafts a narrative that is both haunting and profoundly moving, and her prose is wildly vivid."--CityBeat (Cincinnati)

"The richly textured prose quickly pulled me into the protagonist's treacherous yet magical world. I was drawn to the story of Junie, an enslaved teenager with a love of books and nature who must navigate difficult truths about her family and friendships in order to survive her times."--Charmaine Wilkerson, New York Times bestselling author of Black Cake

"[A] layered and lyrical debut."--Ms.

"A deeply emotional historical fiction book, Erin Crosby Eckstine's Junie is an absolute triumph and belongs on high school reading lists."--Reader's Digest

"Propulsive and haunting, young Junie takes on the many burdens handed to her while reaching for the hope she wasn't meant to have. Erin Crosby Eckstine breathes urgency, wit, and resilience into her preternaturally gifted protagonist. Junie is a lush and immersive story about power, reckoning, love, and redemption."--Diane Marie Brown, author of Black Candle Women

"Junie is the beating heart of this powerful and moving coming-of-age novel, insisting on her right to language, love, and a life on her own terms. Rich in historical detail and packed with suspense, this is a story of survival I will not forget."--Erin Swan, author of Walk the Vanished Earth

"A haunting tale about power, family, and the difficult choices we sometimes have to make for (or in spite of) the people we love. Here is a novel that takes a clear-eyed look at the brutality of slavery without ever depriving the people harmed by it of their agency and humanity."--Rita Chang-Eppig, author of Deep as the Sky, Red as the Sea

"Eckstine combines the lyricism of Jesmyn Ward and Toni Morrison with the speculative historical fiction of Tananarive Due and Leslye Penelope in a stunning debut that will also appeal to fans of Percival Everett's James."--Booklist, starred review

"A compelling portrait of the psychological, emotional, and social degradations of slavery . . . Eckstine is a talented writer to watch."--Kirkus Reviews

"Bringing elements of magical realism that will remind readers of Janelle M. Williams and Jesmyn Ward, Junie is a stunning debut novel about resilience and ancestral power that is both haunting and inspiring."--She Reads

"The complex plot and righteous protagonist will keep readers turning the pages. Eckstine evokes the earthly and supernatural to equally powerful effect in this richly layered tale."--Publishers Weekly

Publisher: Ballantine Books

Pub date: 2026-02-03

Length: 384 pages