Any Second

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About Any Second

Product Description Marieke Nijkamp's This is Where it Ends meets Kathleen Glasgow's Girl in Pieces in a gripping novel that explores the depths of trauma and the strength it takes to rise again. Perfect for readers of Ellen Hopkins. Five years after being kidnapped, Elian's captor sends him into the mall--with a bomb strapped to his chest. Across the mall is Maya, a girl whose crippling anxiety holds her prisoner in its own way. Whether it's chance or fate, Maya keeps Eli from ending them all. And now nothing is the same. Drawn together by their dark pasts, Maya and Eli know it takes only seconds for their entire worlds to change. But time will tell if meeting each other will change them for better or worse. "A riveting novel about the capacity for hope in the midst of evil." - Sara Zarr, National Book Award finalist Review "A moving read that will keep readers up late into the night." -Kirkus Reviews  "An engrossing story of familiar pains and uncanny redemptions." -Booklist  "Emotionally and psychologically engrossing and revelatory." -The Bulletin "Readers will be drawn into a dark and complex story that tries to answer the question, 'How can we prevent tragedies?'"  –VOYA "Un-put-down-able, unflinching, and unforgettable." -Amanda Maciel, author of Tease About the Author Kevin Emerson is the author of numerous novels for young adults and children, including Breakout, Last Day on Mars, and the Exile series. His books have been published in ten countries. A former science teacher, Kevin is also a singer and drummer. He lives in Seattle with his wife and two children. He has won a spelling bee and lost a beauty pageant, and he once appeared in a Swedish television commercial. Visit Kevin on Twitter and Instagram at @kcemerson or on his website kevinemerson.net. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Chapter 1 Gabriel says today is a good day to die. He says the Barons have taken more than their share, that they profit from the blood of the innocent, that they have turned us into sheep and tricked us into accepting it. The Barons who control all the land and the money and the women. They need to be sent a message. “Tell me you are ready, Jacob.” “I am ready.” “Are you sure?” His hand rubs up and down my spine. “Because if you’re not, we’ll need to go home and keep working.” Home is the red dark. Where the lessons are taught. “I am sure.” A long exhale. He kneels behind me, breath hot in my ear, the smell of the habanero sauce, the cigarettes and gasoline, on his clothes. “Do you know what?” “What?” Don’t move. We are standing by the railing, beside the food court at the mall. Blinding sunlight shines down through a domed glass roof and into the oval-­shaped eyeholes of the mask I wear—­but turning or squinting is weakness. Rubbing the sweat out of my eyes is weakness. Flinching when he touches me, shuddering because of what we’re here to do: all weakness. Proof that more lessons are needed. With the spatula. The belt. Cannot go back. Cannot go back—­ “I believe you,” he says. Something wells up inside me, but crying would also be weakness. It is a good thing Gabriel has not delivered the food bowl for two days. Soiling yourself is an awful weakness. “You have earned my trust,” Gabriel says. “You have endured such trials, and you have proven that you are ready to do the great work. You are ready to fulfill the Purpose.” The Purpose. Finally. His hands settle on my shoulders, causing a dull ache from the right one, dislocated . . . months ago? Years? Notches in the floor, made with the meal spoon each time the sliver of light appeared beneath the plywood that covered the window: 1,052 marks, but maybe I missed some days, or counted twice? Too hard to tell. The only other light, that whole time, from a red bulb in a gooseneck lamp. “Throughout history,” Gabriel says, “the greatest revolutions have been started by the smallest of acts. The sheep cannot rise up on their