The Faraway Inn Published by Delacorte Press on 3/31/2026 Genres: Cozy Fantasy, YA (Young Adult)
Pages: 376
Format: Kindle or ebook
Source: purchased
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A teen girl decides to spend her summer helping her eccentric great aunt manage her quaint Vermont inn—only to discover that the fixer-upper is hiding a magical secret—in this cozy and irresistible new young adult fantasy from the New York Times bestselling author of The Spellshop.
“Frosted with whimsy and sprinkled with joy, The Faraway Inn is a testament to why Sarah Beth Durst is the queen of cozy fantasy!”—Tricia Levenseller, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Darkness Within Us
When sixteen-year-old Calisa arrives at her great-aunt’s B&B in rural Vermont for the summer, she’s shocked to find a rundown inn rather than the cozy bed-and-breakfast she was expecting. Grumpy and eccentric, Auntie Zee is determined to keep anyone from messing with her beloved inn . . . even though she clearly needs the help.
To convince her great-aunt to keep her around, Calisa sets to work fixing up the inn, enlisting extra help from the groundskeeper’s (handsome) son. But the longer she stays, the surer she is that there’s something strange about the B&B—and its guests. Something almost . . . otherworldly.
The inn is keeping a magical secret—but to protect the place she’s come to love, Calisa must unravel the truth before it’s too late.
A wonderful, heartwarming, comforting read
The Faraway Inn offers a cozy, magical escape from the cares and troubles of ordinary life—for the reader as much as for the novel’s teenage heroine. And as the author points out in the Author’s Notes, escape isn’t “a weakness or an unnecessary luxury,” but “a deep breath before the plunge…a gathering of strength. It’s taking a moment to remind yourself that there’s good in the world—that there’s wonder and magic and friendship and love and kindness and cake.” You’ll find all of those in abundance in The Faraway Inn. (Be forewarned that it’s going to leave you wanting tea and cake—best to be prepared!)
After finding her boyfriend with his hand up another girl’s shirt, Calisa wants nothing more than to get away for the summer, somewhere she can heal and find her joy and her balance again. Helping out at her great-aunt’s Zee’sVermont B&B sounds like the perfect opportunity. Calisa isn’t afraid of work, but nothing in her moms’ descriptions or her own vague memories prepared her for the ramshackle, rundown inn that awaits her… nor for Auntie Zee’s cantankerous refusal to let her stay. But Calisa has her own brand of strength. Stubbornly, she sets out to try to change Auntie Z’s mind by cleaning the inn, fixing breakfasts, and baking cakes.
But there’s something very odd about the inn… and its guests. Auntie Zee is rarely around, and won’t allow questions when she is. Calisa begins to make friends with the groundskeeper’s handsome, friendly but reticent son, Jack. Slowly, she begins to piece together the inn’s mysteries. But when Auntie Z disappears, it’s up to Calisa and Jack to keep things running, find Auntie Zee, and discover a way to save the inn from closing forever.
I would have adored this book as a teen. In fact, I adored it anyway, and I haven’t been a teenager for over 40 years. Calisa is an admirable heroine: brave, determined, and caring. She’s surprisingly willing to accept and even embrace the impossible, and she takes true delight in what she learns. Calisa isn’t a Chosen One destined to save the world. Instead, she’s a down-to-earth, practical, empathetic, believable teenager, who just happens to carry an unsuspected magic in her genes. Her growing friendship with Jack evolves into a sweet, delicate, slow-burn romance that left me smiling. So did the book’s overall message of healing, growth, and joy, and the importance of finding—and providing—a refuge for all three. I also loved the LGBTQ rep in the book, and the way Calisa accepts everyone for who they are. I don’t buy a lot of physical books these days; my shelf space is too limited. But I’ll be ordering myself a hardcover copy of The Faraway Inn, so I can revisit its otherworldly magic when I need to escape for a little while.
Challenges: (none)
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