First published 2016
Twelve-year-old Rosi has lived her entire remembered life under the care of adults called Freds. They raised her, her younger brother Bobo, and all the other children in their town, explaining that staying with their real parents would put them in danger. Now the Freds announce that the danger has passed. The children must return home to families they barely know. As the oldest child, Rosi becomes the unofficial leader when the younger kids turn to her with their fears and questions. She has no answers to give them. The trust she always placed in the Freds begins to crack. When they finally reach their destination, nothing matches what the Freds told them to expect. The reality of their supposed home challenges everything Rosi believed about her past and her future. She must help the other children navigate this bewildering new world while questioning whether the Freds ever told them the truth.
Genres: fiction, science-fiction, dystopia, contemporary, young-adult
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family, unreliable-narrator
304 pages · Hardcover · Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers