One of Us

by Craig DiLouie

Overview

In this dark, coming-of-age tale, a group of teenagers fight for their place in a world that shuns and scorns their existence. Read the novel Claire North calls "The Girl with All the Gifts meets To Kill a Mockingbird."

They call it the plague

A generation of children born with extreme genetic mutations

They call it a home

But it's a place of neglect and forced labor

They call him Dog

But Enoch is just a boy who wants to be "normal"

They call the children dangerous

They might be right

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781549172694
Publisher:	Hachette Book Group
Publication date:	07/17/2018
Edition description:	Unabridged
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 5.70(h) x (d)

About the Author

Craig DiLouie is an acclaimed American-Canadian author of literary dark fantasy and other fiction. Learn more at CraigDiLouie.com

Maxwell Hamilton is a voice talent and Earphones Award-winning narrator.

Editorial Reviews

03/19/2018
One-dimensional characters and offensive clichés mar DiLouie’s (Suffer the Children) disappointing chronicle of rising unrest between “normal” people and a group of disabled children set in Huntsville, Ga., in 1984. In 1968, an incurable sexually transmitted disease caused physical malformations in numerous babies. Some cases were fatal, and the survivors became known as “the plague generation.” Fourteen years later, those children live in the Home; they have been rejected by their parents, mistreated by their caregivers, and shunned by society. Some of the children begin manifesting powers, such as mind control, that could help them take down the “normals” and gain their freedom. After Enoch, a gentle boy, is killed for a crime he didn’t commit, Brain, a caricature of an autistic savant, decides that war is imminent and gathers the children to fight. Inevitably, the government seeks to use the children and their burgeoning powers for its own nefarious purposes. The well-trod tropes of oppression and uprising don’t take on any new life here, and the linkage of disability, superability, and inhumanity is tiresome and cruel, especially when children are the focus. Any readers who make it through the considerable scenes of carnage likely won’t be satisfied by the pat conclusion. Agent: David Fugate, LaunchBooks Literary. (July)

Publishers Weekly

"A powerful and heartbreaking tale about hate, fear, and truth. Author Craig DiLouie is fearless as he explores the dark territory of the human heart."—Jonathan Maberry, New York Times bestselling author

"This is not a kind book, or a gentle book, or a book that pulls its punches. But it's a powerful book, and it will change you."—Seanan McGuire, author of Every Heart a Doorway

"Disturbing, beautiful . . . . A powerhouse of a novel. DiLouie continues to be the master of writing the human heart and all the terrors it contains."—Peter Clines, author of Paradox Bound and The Fold

"DiLouie has crafted something special, with sympathetic characters, tragedy, hope and humor all expertly woven together. One of Us is a stunning achievement in speculative fiction."—Shelf Awareness

"One of Us is a horror mash-up of Wild Cards and kid-capers like The Goonies, but its portrayal of hatred feels all too real - and will stay with you long after the book is done."—The Washington Post

"An amazing tour-de-force . . . One of Us rattled me to the core. An engrossing, emotionally-charged book and a work of terrible beauty. To Kill a Mockingbird-with monsters."—John Dixon, Bram Stoker Award-winning author

"The Girl with all the Gifts meets To Kill a Mockingbird."—Claire North, author of 84K

"A character-driven and sometimes heartbreaking story about what happens to those of us who are different, and who the monsters truly are. DiLouie keeps the reader turning pages."—Megan Hart, New York Times bestselling author of All the Lies We Tell

"You shouldn't believe there aren't any truly original stories out there anymore, because One of Us is one of a kind." —Nicholas Sansbury Smith, author of The Extinction Cycle

"Frightening in its familiarity, One of Us is a tale of human monsters and monstrous humans - authentic, brutal, and inevitable."—David Walton, internationally bestselling author of The Genius Plague

"Craig DiLouie's One of Us is without a doubt one of the best books I'll read this year . . . . a compelling work of near perfection."—Bracken MacLeod, Bram Stoker Award-nominated author of Stranded

"Rich with well-defined characters, sharp writing, and a riveting premise, this is a novel not to be missed."—Jason V. Brock, author of The Dark Sea Within

"This seamless fable of loss, violence, and hope forces us to examine what it means to be different and what it means to be human."—Patrick Freivald, author of Jade Sky

"One of Us is a masterfully written, thought-provoking dark fairy tale, and one of the best books I've read in a long time. It will stay with the reader long after they've finished the last page."—Dana Fredsti, author of the Ashley Parker series

"One of Us is nearly impossible to put down."
—Shawn Chesser, author of The Promise

From the Publisher