Hearts Still Beating
-
- 6,49 €
Beschreibung des Verlags
Gripping, romantic, and impossible to put down, this dark and immersive post-apocalyptic debut novel is about two teen girls who loved each other before the end of the world — and before one of them became infected with the virus that turned her into a monster.
Perfect for fans of Krystal Sutherland, Adam Silvera, and the darkly human side of the HBO Max horror-drama The Last of Us.
Seventeen-year-old Mara is dead—mostly. Infected with a virus that brought the dead back to life and the world to its knees, she wakes up in a facility to learn a treatment for the disease has been found. No longer a Tick, Mara is placed in an experimental resettlement program. But her recovery is complicated by her destination: she’s sent to live with the best friend she hasn’t seen since the world ended—and since their first and only kiss.
Seventeen-year-old Rory is alive—barely. With impaired mobility from an injury and a dead sister, Rory’s nightmares are just as monstrous as the Ticks that turned her former best friend. Even after the Island—one of a handful of surviving communities—rebuilds itself, Rory is prepared for the Ticks to return at any time. She never expected them to come in the form of the only girl she’s ever loved.
As the girls struggle with their pasts and the people they’ve become, and with the Island’s fragile peace in the balance, Rory and Mara must lean on each other to survive—or risk losing the girl they love all over again.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
A zombie apocalypse complicates two queer teens' burgeoning romance in Archer's affecting, adrenaline-fueled debut. Shortly after best friends Mara Knight and Rory Blake first kiss, the Letalis Tichnosis virus sweeps the globe, turning those it infects into mindless flesh-eating monsters dubbed Ticks. The girls get separated when their respective families flee San Diego, only to reconnect three years later, at 17, on the Island, a settlement off California's coast. In exchange for much-needed antibiotics, the Island agrees to house 15 of the Altered—Letalis Tichnosis survivors whose homicidal urges are largely suppressed by an experimental drug. Rory's family is still reeling from her sister's death following a Tick attack, so Rory is deeply conflicted upon learning that an orphaned Mara is part of the Island's new Altered population and will be living with the Blakes. Things get even murkier when the Island's self-proclaimed, virulently anti-Tick leader starts targeting the Altered and their hosts. The resolution feels pat and some secondary characters lack depth, but escalating stakes, nuanced plotting, and a visceral first-person-present narrative that alternates between the emotionally complex protagonists' POVs combine for a gratifying read. The boldly drawn cast is intersectionally diverse. Ages 14–up.
