Synopses & Reviews
When fifteen-year-old K narrowly survives a bomb attack just as she is about to step into a subway car, she thinks it is just one more bad happenstance in a lifetime of worse ones. The news blames a radical insurgent organization called the Brotherhood, which, unsurprisingly, is the same group that killed her parents.
As a product of the system, K's survival has depended on her ability to keep her emotions at a distance from her actions. But when a young, charming police officer tells her that she could be a part of something important where she will have a place and people to call her own, K is tempted to agree. The dangerous trick is first she will have to infiltrate and assimilate into the Brotherhood as a spy.
Double crosses, paranoia, and unrest barrel toward a thrilling and unavoidable collision of worlds where K must rely on the one thing that she has become an expert at hidingher true self.
Debut novelist Jeannie Waudby deftly underscores the complexities of violence, blame, and unmitigated belief, drawing keen parallels to the politically charged reality of today.
[Excerpt:]
"A trapdoor below me has opened, and I need to shut it again before I fall in forever."
Review
"A timely and riveting debut thriller about tolerance and the complexities of truth."
Kirkus Reviews
Synopsis
All that Pearl knows can be encapsulated in one word: Seed. It is the isolated community that she was born into. It is the land that she sows and reaps. It is the center of her family and everything that means home. And it is all kept under the watchful eye of Papa S.
At fifteen years old, Pearl is finally old enough to be chosen as Papa S.'s companion. She feels excitement . . . and surprising trepidation that she cannot explain. The arrival of a new family into the Seed community -- particularly the teenage son, Ellis -- only complicates the life and lifestyle that Pearl has depended upon as safe and constant. Ellis is compelling, charming, and worldly, and he seems to have a lot of answers to questions Pearl has never thought to ask. But as Pearl digs to the roots of the truth, only she can decide what she will allow to come to the surface.
Lisa Heathfield's suspenseful, scintillating debut features a compelling voice that combines blithe na t (c)keen observation, and sincere emotion.
Synopsis
When Two Truths and One Lie Turn Deadly . . .
A narrow escape from a bomb attack.
A radical insurgent organization on the rise.
A place and a people to call her own.
K has a choice to make, and her answer is yes.
Yes to spying.
Yes to making right wrongs of the past.
Yes to leading a double life.
But when the two worlds lead to one trapdoor,
will K be able to avoid falling through?
About the Author
Jeannie Waudby grew up in Hong Kong and now lives with her husband and three children in London, where she teaches English and she is a member of British SCBWI.
One of Us is her debut novel.