The Unquiet

Book excerpt: “Epic, desolate, rich, and breathtaking . . . The Unquiet is unforgettable.”—Ann Aguirre, New York Times–bestselling author of the Razorland trilogy “A slow-burn type of novel . . . fascinating.”—Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books The Atlas Six meets Orphan Black in this complex, beautifully crafted debut about a sixteen-year-old girl who is forced to live—and kill—on a parallel Earth. Mikaela Everett’s The Unquiet is for readers of V. E. Schwab’s Vicious and anyone who loves dystopian thrillers. For as long as anyone can remember, there have been two Earths. Two versions of every city, every building, even every person. But the people from the second Earth know something their originals do not: two versions of the same thing cannot exist. For the people born on the second Earth to survive, they must kill their originals and take their places. Lirael had one purpose from the moment she was sent to Earth 1 as a child—to learn everything she could about her other self. When the time comes, she kills her original and slips seamlessly into her life. But as Lirael takes over her original’s life, she begins to wonder if there’s more. More than mindlessly following orders, more than living life in a holding pattern, waiting for a war that will destroy everything and everyone she has come to love. An intricate, literary stand-alone from an astonishing voice, Mikaela Everett’s The Unquiet takes readers deep inside the psyche of a strong teenage heroine struggling with what she has been raised to be and who she really is. The Unquiet will electrify fans of Neal Shusterman’s Scythe and Kim Liggett’s The Grace Year.