Into the Real
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
In this gripping, genre-defying YA novel from New York Times bestselling author Z Brewer, three teens—one who presents as genderqueer, one who presents as female, and one who presents as male—are caught up in three very different stories of survival. But those stories intersect as the teens start to realize that they might in fact be a single, singular “they,” alternating among worlds—and that accepting themself might be the key to defeating the monsters that plague them in all three.
Three Quinns. Three Brumes. Three realities.
The first Brume is a waking nightmare, overrun by literal monsters and cutthroat survivors. For Quinn, who is openly genderqueer, the silver lining is their friendship with Lia—and that there might still be hope for salvation.
The second Brume is a prison with no bars. Forced to “sort out” their sexuality with other teens at Camp Redemption, Quinn must also figure out why presenting as female has never felt quite right.
The third Brume is a war zone. For Quinn, who presents as male, leading the Resistance against an authoritarian government is difficult, since even the Resistance might not accept them if they knew Quinn’s truth.
As Quinn starts to realize that they might be one person alternating among these three worlds and identities, they wonder: Which world is the real one? Or do they all contain some deeper truth?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In Brewer's (Madness) speculative tale of identity, 17-year-old Quinn exists in three iterations within the municipality of Brume, their gender presentation varying across story lines. Each of three plots, told in alternating first-person prose, find Quinn navigating their identity, interpersonal relationships, and external threats while gradually becoming aware of their other existences and considering how each might be connected. A genderqueer-presenting Quinn faces human-eating monsters after the death of their accepting family. A female-presenting Quinn agrees to reside at a conversion therapy camp that she later discovers employs torture. And a male-presenting Quinn leads a resistance against a white supremacist led America a resistance whose soldiers cling to homophobia and binary gender roles. Shifts between realities can be jarring at first, and aspects of the military reality, such as unclear reasoning behind why an unskilled youth commands more experienced soldiers, weaken it substantially. Though readers sensitive to queer pain may wish to steer clear, the clearly wrought threats and anguish that the Quinns face from those closest to them feel hauntingly familiar. Ages 13 up.
