Publisher : Tor Teen (April 27, 2021)
Publication date : April 27, 2021
Language : English
“The characters offer positive, realistic LGBTQIA+ representation―especially nonbinary identities and characters still exploring their identities. Refreshingly, the characters also feel like generally-woke-but-still-imperfect humans. Wickedly funny and thrilling in turns; perfect for readers coming-of-age online.” ―Kirkus, starred review
“Kritzer’s take on a benevolent AI is both whimsical and poignant. An entertaining, heart-filled exploration of today’s online existence and privacy concerns.” ―Publishers Weekly, starred review
“Smart, sly, scary, and irrepressibly good fun, this novel has everything I’ve ever wanted from a story: it is a cerebral, funny, tender, big-idea delight. I can’t wait for you to read it.”―Kelly Barnhill, Newbery Award-winning author of The Girl Who Drank the Moon
"An absolutely charming and incredibly gripping, superbly plotted YA thriller." ―Cory Doctorow, New York Times bestselling author of Little Brother
“Kritzer’s flawless collection taps deep wells of emotion and wonder…. Her work is indisputably speculative, but it’s a perfect entry point to the genre for readers who prefer fantastical and futuristic elements to stay more in the background, with human (and robotic) feelings always at the fore. This splendid treat is not to be missed.” ―Publishers Weekly, starred review, on Cat Pictures Please and Other Stories
When a mysterious entity starts hacking into social networks and chat rooms to instigate paranoia and violence in the real world, it’s up to Steph and her new friend, Nell, to find a way to stop it—with the help of their benevolent AI friend, CheshireCat.
Edgar Allan Poe Award Winner
CHAPTER 1
“The worst thing about leaving New Coburg was leaving my girlfriend behind,” I say.
Nell’s response is not quite what I expected—her eyes go wide, but rather than drawing away from me, she leans in and whispers, “Me, too.”
“The sort I kiss,” I say, just to be absolutely sure we’re on the
same page. “I don’t just mean a friend who’s a girl.”
Nell nods. “I get it,” she whispers, swallows hard, and leans back in her chair.
“Our parents just think we’re friends. The Abiding Remnant—they’re not, I mean. It’s not. She gets sort of tongue tied and finally takes a bite of her food, maybe so she has an excuse not to talk while she’s eating. I’m pretty sure I got the gist, anyway.
“That sounds hard,” I say.
Nell swallows and leans forward again like she’s going to tell me some other secret.
“The Abiding Remnant make women sit in the back just in case one of us speaks accidentally, since women aren’t supposed to speak in church.”
“That sounds terrible,” I say.
She pulls back and in a slightly unsteady voice quotes something with a wherefore and be ye in it that I’m still trying to parse out when her voice goes squeaky and she says, “I haven’t heard from her since I left Lake Sadie, and I don’t know why. I think it’s because I’m here, and not there, so maybe to all of them I’m part of the infernal rabble now, even though I didn’t leave, my mother was taken away from me.” I start to tell her again that I’m sorry and she waves me off and clears her throat. “So tell me how you wound up here. Why did you move so much?”
“We were on the run from my father.”
This at least temporarily diverts her from her own troubles.
“What, really? Why?”
I tell her the version of the story that leaves in the kidnapping. I explain the trip to Boston with my girlfriend as the two of us were looking for a friend of my mother’s to help keep us safe. Now that my father is in jail awaiting trial, I have a phone, I’m attending school under my real name, and Mom’s hired a lawyer to straighten out all the paperwork. Including the part where she technically committed kidnapping when she took off with me.
I leave out the sentient AI, of course. I wonder if CheshireCat is ever going to be a secret I don’t have to keep. I haven’t even told Julie, my childhood best friend I reconnected with last fall, that part of the story.
Copyright © 2021 by Naomi Kristzer
