by Mo Hayder
First published 2022
McKenzie Strathie wakes up in Fairfax County, Virginia, to rain pattering outside her window. She's an ordinary teenager living an ordinary life, but something has shifted. The night before, she discovered a sand lizard in her bed. Now she questions everything around her, especially her own identity. Meanwhile, in a world of endless sand and burning sun, a family walks toward shelter across hostile terrain. Empty cities shimmer in the distance, their buildings crumbling ruins. The family must reach their shuck before darkness falls. Being caught outside after dark means danger and almost certain death. To survive in this alien landscape of shifting sand, they need to find an object hidden near water. Other families want the same object. They will fight to the death for it. Two worlds collide as McKenzie discovers connections between her Virginia suburb and the desert wasteland where only the strongest survive. She must uncover who she really is before both worlds consume her.
Genres: science-fiction, fantasy, contemporary, thriller, alternate-universe, apocalyptic
Vibes: dark, emotional, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, parallel-worlds, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Fairfax County, Virginia, Desert Wasteland
Period: Contemporary
Audio CD · Blackstone Publishing, Inc.
Content warnings: anxiety, depression, mental-illness