First published 2022
Benji runs through the wasteland left by Armageddon. The fundamentalist cult that raised him unleashed global destruction and infected the sixteen-year-old trans boy with their bioweapon. Now they hunt him across the decimated world. Monsters corner him in the ruins, but teens from the Acheson LGBTQ+ Center arrive with guns blazing. Their leader Nick is autistic, beautiful, and knows exactly what Benji carries inside him. The bioweapon transforms Benji into something that could end humanity forever. Nick offers sanctuary at the ALC if Benji will control his mutation and fight for their survival. Benji agrees, desperate to find his place among these queer survivors. But Nick hides his own agenda. As Benji's body changes and his power grows, he must decide whether to trust the boy who saved him or embrace the monster the cult created.
Genres: science-fiction, dystopia, contemporary, young-adult, apocalyptic
Vibes: dark, emotional, fast-paced, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Acheson LGBTQ+ Center
Period: Armageddon
398 pages · Hardcover · Peachtree Teen
Content warnings: body-horror, graphic-violence, medical-trauma