First published 2024
Pearson watches her society transform around the Mental Parity Movement, where calling someone stupid becomes illegal and intelligence discrimination turns into the final civil rights battle. Schools expel children for using the S-word. Medical licenses disappear since qualifications suggest some people are smarter than others. Smartphones get new names to avoid implications about intelligence. Her best friend Emory, a radio host, rides the wave of popular opinion and makes increasingly extreme statements supporting the movement. Pearson thinks the whole thing is absurd and refuses to abandon what others call the old, bigoted way of thinking. Their friendship splits apart as the culture war intensifies. Pearson's resistance puts her job at risk, threatens her safety, and endangers her family. She must decide whether to conform to survive or keep fighting for the right to acknowledge that people have different intellectual abilities.
Genres: fiction, dystopia, contemporary, social-issues, political-thriller
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, social-commentary
292 pages · Kindle Edition · The Borough Press
Content warnings: ableism, mental-illness