Justine Pucella Winans

Author Website

Stand Alone Titles

The Otherwoods (2023)

Official Description

Some would call River Rydell a “chosen one”: born with the ability to see monsters and travel to a terrifying world called The Otherwoods, they have all the makings of a hero. But River just calls themself unlucky. It’s not like anyone actually believes River can do these things, so the way River sees it, it’s best to just ignore anything Otherwoods-related.

But The Otherwoods won’t be ignored any longer.

When River’s only friend (and crush) Avery is dragged into The Otherwoods, River has no choice but to confront the world they’ve seen only in their nightmares—but reality is more horrifying than they could have ever imagined. With only their cat for protection and a teen spirit as their guide, River must face The Otherwoods and their own fears to become the hero they were (unfortunately) destined to be.

Wishbone (2024)

Official Description

Ollie wishes things could be different. He wishes his parents would stop fighting. He wishes his sister Mia didn’t have to worry about paying for college. He wishes people would accept him for who he is. Most of all, he wishes he wasn’t so angry about all of this.

When he and Mia find a two-tailed cat they name Wishbone, Ollie takes comfort in telling him everything he wishes would change—then, it does. Everything Ollie and Mia wish for comes true, and it’s like all of their problems are solved. But magic comes at a price. Their wishes have consequences, and a mysterious shadow man called The Mage is after Wishbone. Darkness is overtaking their world, and worst of all, it threatens to take over Ollie, too. Can he let go of everything he’s ever wanted, or will he let evil win?

A Little Too Haunted (2025)

Official Description

The only thing worse than having ghost hunters for parents is having fake ghost hunters for parents. Luna Catalano would know. Her moms are haunted house flippers who use their home reno skills and pretend psychic powers to turn spooky old houses into ghost-free modern homes. Not only does their job require the family to move all the time–meaning Luna is completely friendless–but the only thing haunting any of those houses is bad decor. For once Luna wishes there was an actual, for-real ghost.

When they move yet again, Luna isn’t expecting much. But this house feels…different. Things start out innocent enough–items not where they should be, strange noises–but soon things turn sinister. Her moms are waking up with cuts and bruises, and disturbing drawings showing them with even worse injuries are being left in Luna’s room. With the help of her next-door neighbors and a mysterious woman who seems to know a lot about the home, Luna starts to piece together what exactly happened in that house before she moved in. But not everything is as it seems. In order to save her moms, Luna will have to get the story right before everything goes completely wrong.

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