Stray

Perfect for fans of Black Mirror and Warcross, a suspenseful novel that asks what it means to live a life that isn’t your own.

Lona Sixteen Always has spent most of her life as someone else. Part of a unique virtual reality experiment for troubled kids who have been “rescued” by the government, she spends twenty-three hours a day on the Path, reliving the decades-old, perfectly ordinary memories of a perfectly ordinary boy. Any other life is unimaginable — until one day someone appears on Lona’s screen who doesn’t belong: Fenn, a boy from her past, has returned to set her free.

Lona is wrenched brutally into an existence that is suddenly all her own, one that promises liberty and love, but also holds threatening secrets. And it turns out that there is a heavy price to pay for straying from her assigned path.

In Stray, Edgar-award winning master of suspense Monica Hesse brings us a richly imagined speculative world where there are no easy answers–and no easy way out.

• Praise for Girl in the Blue Coat:
  "Girl in the Blue Coat is a powerful, compelling coming-of-age story set against the dark and dangerous backdrop of World War II. It's an important and page-turning look at the choices all of us--including young adults--have to make in wartime. A beautiful combination of heartbreak, loss, young love, and hope."
  Kristin Hannah, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Nightingale
• "A tapestry of guilt and acceptance, growing responsibility, and reluctant heroism, Hanneke's coming-of-age under heartbreaking circumstances is a jarring reminder of how war consumes and transforms the passions of ordinary life. Every devastating moment of this beautiful novel is both poignant and powerful, and every word feels true."
  Elizabeth Wein, New York Times bestselling author of Black Dove, White Raven; Rose Under Fire; and the Printz Honor-winning Code Name Verity
• "In an occupied city, a young woman's daring transforms into true courage when she confronts a mystifying disappearance. From page one, I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. Enthralling."
  Judy Blundell, New York Times bestselling author of Strings Attached and the National Book Award-winning What I Saw and How I Lied
• "It's no small feat to bring the past to life, especially a history as dark and desperate as World War II. Monica Hesse does just this with Hanneke's story. Brace yourself, dear reader, to have your heart bruised--and possibly even broken--in the most meaningful of ways."
  Ryan Graudin, author of The Walled City and Wolf by Wolf
• * "[An] affecting novel...that skillfully combines reality with fiction. Her characters come alive, and...Hesse's pacing infuses her story with thriller suspense, enriching the narrative with dramatic surprises both small and large."
  Booklist, starred review
• * "Riveting... a gripping historical mystery."
  Publishers Weekly, starred review