Like AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER, Candice Jarrett’s debut novel MORTAL TETHER masterfully illustrates a child’s eye view of family and friendship against the backdrop of a brutally divided and dangerous world. This book is ideal for fans who enjoyed STRANGER THINGS, THE HUNGER GAMES, and LORD OF THE FLIES.
An airborne virus twisted all adults on the planet into immortal monsters that hunt children each nightfall. These creatures can never die. But they can kill. And the infection is spreading.
Days shy of fourteen, Amaia knows she can’t save the world. She’s got snark and attitude for days, but the upper body strength of a hamster. When Amaia teams up with the cute boy from across the street to rescue an orphaned infant from a horrifying fate, the pair of teens must dig deep for their courage and level up their survival skills STAT. The baby’s cries are a screeching dinner bell for hordes of hungry geists, and if Amaia can’t keep this baby quiet, she’ll be next on the menu.
As Amaia fights both for her new family’s survival and to uncover the truth of her older brother Carlos’ disappearance, a civilization poisoned by fear threatens to destroy anyone she dares to love.
Amaia will find the people she runs to for help… are the deadliest monsters of all.
MORTAL TETHER is YA post-apocalyptic dystopian science fiction with an all-teen cast appropriate for ages 13 and up. Its core themes include how fear-driven tribalization disintegrates society, the fight to preserve innocence in the brutal world our parents built, as well as explorations of faith and family from a coming-of-age perspective. An expertly crafted combination of heart-pounding thrills intertwined with tender moments that stay with you long after you turn the last page.
Quotes from Mortal Tether:
“I want her to grow up knowing that a person can be both sweet and tough, fragile and strong… and just because a girl’s in distress doesn’t mean she’s a damsel in distress. It’s ok to need help.”
“A mortal tether is what binds us to this world. It’s all the beautiful things in our life that make it worth living. It’s the love my parents had for me that lives inside me even though they’re gone and the knowledge deep in my soul that my Mom and Dad would want me to fight and live on and find a way to be happy again. It’s the hope against impossible odds I’ll see my brother one day and get crushed by one of his annoying bear hugs. It’s the pitch of Sara Angelina laughs when I tickle her foot. It’s the deep pink of Liam’s blushes when he steals glances at me and thinks I can’t see.”
“The corners of my mouth twitched. Wait. Did this boy just make me smile in the middle of the apocalypse?”
“Those cannibal freaks opened something worse than Pandora’s box. The girl in that story got stuck with hope. Hope is for suckers. The only thing the geists left in Amaia’s box now burned in my chest. Rage.”
“There comes a time when we can’t blame our parents anymore, when our crimes become our own.”
