A furious, queer debut novel about embracing the monster within and unleashing its power against your oppressors. "A long, sustained scream to the various strains...

A furious, queer debut novel about embracing the monster within and unleashing its power against your oppressors.

"A long, sustained scream to the various strains of anti-transgender legislation multiplying around the world like, well, a virus." --The New York Times

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

Sixteen-year-old trans boy Benji is on the run from the cult that raised him--the fundamentalist sect that unleashed Armageddon and decimated the world's population. Desperately, he searches for a place where the cult can't get their hands on him, or more importantly, on the bioweapon they infected him with.

But when cornered by monsters born from the destruction, Benji is rescued by a group of teens from the local Acheson LGBTQ+ Center, affectionately known as the ALC. The ALC's leader, Nick, is gorgeous, autistic, and a deadly shot, and he knows Benji's darkest secret: the cult's bioweapon is mutating him into a monster deadly enough to wipe humanity from the earth once and for all.

Still, Nick offers Benji shelter among his ragtag group of queer teens, as long as Benji can control the monster and use its power to defend the ALC. Eager to belong, Benji accepts Nick's terms...until he discovers the ALC's mysterious leader has a hidden agenda, and more than a few secrets of his own. Perfect for fans of Gideon the Ninth and Annihilation.

A New York Public Library Best Book of the Year
A William C. Morris Award Finalist
A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year
A Booklist Editors' Choice Selection
A BCCB Blue Ribbon Book
Named to the ALA Rainbow Roundtable's Rainbow Book List

"A defining voice of our generation." -H.E. Edgmon, author of The Witch King
"Hands down the best YA horror book I've read." ­-Aden Polydoros, author of The City Beautiful
"A chimera of horror, romance, and something stranger." -Rose Szabo, author of What Big Teeth
"A timely and riveting tale." -Ray Stoeve, author of Between Perfect and Real

Author: Andrew Joseph White
Publisher: Peachtree Teen
Published: 06/07/2022
Pages: 416
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.04lbs
Size: 8.03h x 5.28w x 1.57d
ISBN: 9781682633243
Audience: Young Adult


Award: William C. Morris YA Debut Award - Honor Book


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 04/01/2022
Booklist 04/01/2022 pg. 54
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 05/01/2022
Publishers Weekly 05/02/2022
School Library Journal 12/09/2022 pg. 1

About the Author
Andrew Joseph White is a queer, trans author from Virginia, where he grew up falling in love with monsters and wishing he could be one too. He earned his MFA in creative writing from George Mason University's Creative Writing program in 2022 and has a habit of cuddling random street cats. Andrew writes about trans kids with claws and fangs, and what happens when they bite back. Find Andrew on Twitter and Instagram @AJWhiteAuthor.