What if Hitler had won World War II? That’s the premise for the upcoming debit release by one of the YA Buccaneers, Caroline Tung Richmond. It’s coming into the world on September 30/14, and we’re all so excited for her! Nothing like a good book by one of your Mateys!
Here’s what it’s all about:
It’s been nearly 80 years since the Allies lost WWII in a crushing defeat against Hitler’s genetically engineered super soldiers. America has been carved up by the victors, and 16-year-old Zara lives a life of oppression in the Eastern America Territories. Under the iron rule of the Nazis, the government strives to maintain a master race, controlling everything from jobs to genetics. Despite her mixed heritage and hopeless social standing, Zara dreams of the free America she’s only read about in banned books. A revolution is growing, and a rogue rebel group is plotting a deadly coup. Zara might hold the key to taking down the Führer for good, but it also might be the very thing that destroys her. Because what she has to offer the rebels is something she’s spent her entire life hiding, under threat of immediate execution by the Nazis.
In this action-packed, heart-stopping novel of a terrifying reality that could have been, Zara must decide just how far she’ll go for freedom.
Wow. Just…wow. I can’t wait to read this!! And now that you’ve heard a bit about it, I’m sure you feel the same way. We’re hosting some fun events based around this release, and that means GIVEAWAYS! A whopping SEVEN of them, to be exact. All you have to do to get in on it is write up a response to one of the following questions:
#1. THE ONLY THING TO FEAR takes place in an alternate-history version of the U.S., in which the Nazis won World War II. Imagine an alternate ending to a big event in your own life. How could things have turned out differently?
#2. In THE ONLY THING TO FEAR, Zara has to decide whether to join a revolution. Was there ever a time in your life that you had to choose to break the rules for the greater good? Or are you currently writing a character who has to make this choice? What is his or her dilemma?
To win, just write a post on your blog and link it to the comment section of this post at the YA Buccaneers blog, or pop it right into the comments section there. It doesn’t have to be fancy, or polished. We’re just excited to hear what you think!
And what would MY answer be? Not such a big event in my life, but when I first entered high school, I took part in something our school called “Reach for the Top”. It was a knowledge-challenge series, where students from each grade formed teams and tried to earn the most points in a fast-paced trivia challenge. There were history questions, general knowledge, math, pop culture….you name it, we had to know about it.
It was only the first few weeks of school, but I joined my class team. I’m good at trivia (or at least, I was back then), and our team did pretty well. The whole challenge was run by one of the toughest history teachers in the school, and when I cleaned up on a difficult series of geography questions, he made a point of telling me afterward that he was looking forward to having me in his class.
Of course, I stunk at history.
And that history teacher–who had expected big things–was reeeeeeally disappointed. I’m sure he wondered if I’d been cheating on the challenge questions, or if I just wasn’t trying in his class. I think if I could have changed that part of my history, I probably wouldn’t have participated in Reach for the Top. That way, I’d have had a more level playing field upon entering his class. Were his expectations of me too high? I’ll never know, but I always regretted that afternoon’s big win.
Will you participate in our challenge? Are you looking forward to Caroline’s book as much as I am? Let me know!
