When Jacob is sent to stay with his aunt and uncle for the summer and falls ill, he's exiled to the attic - the sickroom - and discovers his love of art in the paintings he finds there.

 

Turning his back on his troubles back home, Jacob launches himself into an obsessive friendship with his younger cousin Macon, a secret friendship. But secrets can be dangerous, and when a tantalizing chance to reinvent himself arises, Jacob makes a choice that changes both his life and Macon's forever.

 

A powerful story from the author of Home and Come When I Call You about the betrayals we regret, the friendships we cherish, and the summers we never forget.

​

The Sickroom is a literary novella.