"What is this place?"
In a drought-stricken world, Devin and his grandfather have barely scraped out a living on their isolated farm. When his grandfather dies, Devin knows he can't manage alone and heads for the nearest city to find help. But in the city he finds only children alone like him, living on the streets. Then a small act of kindness earns Devin an invitation to the Gabriel H. Penn Home for Childhood-a place with unlimited food and toys and the hope of finding a new home.
But Devin soon finds out that the Gabriel Penn Home is no paradise. A zombie-like sickness afflicts many of the children who live there-and it will claim Devin, too, unless he can become the first to find a way out of this dystopian nightmare.
"[A] chilling and engrossing tale . . . A standout." -Kirkus Reviews, starred review
"Fast-paced and gripping. An original dystopian story." -School Library Journal, starred review
"A timeless story that deserves to become a children's classic for decades to come." -The Christian Science Monitor
A Summer 2014 Kids' Indie Next List Pick
One of the Christian Science Monitor's 25 Best New Middle Grade Novels of 2014 When his grandfather dies, Devin goes to the city. There, he finds children, just like him, living on the streets. An act of kindness earns Devin an invitation to a home for abandoned children, but it's soon clear that it's no paradise. A zombie-like sickness that afflicts some children, and soon Devin discovers the home's horrific true mission.
The daughter of the late novelist Barry Unsworth, Tania Unsworth spent her childhood in Cambridge, UK, before moving to America in her early twenties. She currently lives in Boston, Massachusetts, with her husband and two sons. She's the author of The One Safe Place. Her website is www.taniaunsworth.com.
"My granddad used to live here when he was young," Devin began. "He said it was different then. It changed when it started to get hot. People stopped looking out for each other and lots of things that used to be organized just turned into a big mess."
"Yeah?" Kit said without much interest. "Well, it's like this now. And it's not going to change. Some of the kids talk about getting out, how they heard about a kid who got adopted by rich people and went to live in luxury forever. Or that there's a home somewhere where they feed you and you can play all day and have everything you want. But it's just fairy tales." Kit's mouth set in a fierce line.
"Fact is," she said, "we're on our own."
"Tania Unsworth has written a lightning-fast and spine-chilling novel. Readers will root for Devin with white knuckles and pounding hearts." -Michael Grant, New York Times bestselling author of Gone and The Magnificent 12
"This frightening and mysterious book surprised me again and again. Unsworth has created a world where nothing is as it seems and horrors lurk around every corner. When you read it, you will quickly discover one terrifying fact--there IS no safe place!" -R. L. Stine
"A standout in the genre's crowded landscape." -Kirkus Reviews, starred review
"Here's a literary post-apocalyptic thriller with something new and interesting to say about friendship, home, love, and community . . . This is a timeless story that deserves to become a children's classic for decades to come." -The Christian Science Monitor
"[A] marvelous dystopian thriller . . . The novel is beautifully paced, the setting vivid, the plot disturbing, the finale thrilling." -The Buffalo News
"Reminiscent of Clive Barker's The Thief of Always . . . Fast-paced and gripping. An original dystopian story for middle-grade readers." -School Library Journal
"Unsworth unravels the story with skilled deliberation, creating a page-turning mix of suspense, intrigue, and anxiety. The ki
