Sanctuary

Synopsis

Co-founder of the Women's March makes her YA debut in a near future dystopian where a young girl and her brother must escape a xenophobic government to find sanctuary.

It's 2032, and in this near-future America, all citizens are chipped and everyone is tracked--from buses to grocery stores. It's almost impossible to be an undocumented immigrant, but that's exactly what sixteen-year-old Vali is. She and her family have carved out a stable, happy life in small-town Vermont, but when Vali's mother's counterfeit chip starts malfunctioning and the Deportation Forces are poised to raid their town, they are forced to flee.

Now on the run, Vali and her family are desperately trying to make it to her tía Luna's in California, a sanctuary state that is currently being walled off from the rest of the country. But when Vali's mother is arrested before their journey even really begins, Vali must carry on with her younger brother across the country to make it to safety before it's too late.

In this timely, breathless, and potent novel, co-authors Paola Mendoza (co-founder of the Women's March) and Abby Sher have crafted a narrative that is as haunting as it is hopeful in envisioning a future where everyone can find sanctuary.