When Marnie Was There

Quiet and withdrawn, Anna Sasaki struggles with frequent asthma attacks and feels cut off from the people around her, leaving her foster parent deeply concerned. Following a doctor’s advice, she’s sent to the countryside for the summer, where sea air and a slower pace might help her recover and settle her thoughts. Staying with her aunt and uncle in a small coastal town, Anna passes the days sketching and wandering on her own.

During one of those walks, she comes across the Marsh House, an old mansion that looks deserted—until she meets Marnie, a bright, enigmatic girl who seems to appear there after dark. As Anna returns night after night, Marnie’s warmth begins to draw her out, but the mansion’s secrets and Marnie’s true nature don’t fit neatly into what Anna can explain. With summer slipping away, Anna is pulled toward answers hidden within the Marsh House and within herself.