An action-packed, thought-provoking story set generations after an apocalypse

Decades ago, the United States underwent the Change—suddenly, all electricity was gone, and people developed unusual powers. Society fell apart. People came together in small enclaves, fighting to create new cities in a land with no rules. Las Anclas, in what was once Southern California, is one of those cities. Teenage prospector Ross Juarez’s best find ever – an ancient book he doesn’t know how to read – nearly costs him his life when a bounty hunter is set on him to kill him and steal the book. Ross barely makes it to Las Anclas, bringing with him a precious artifact, a power no one has ever had before, and a whole lot of trouble.

Fast paced, cinematic, and full of inventive world-building, diverse characters, and moral complexity, Stranger is a uniquely riveting novel.


“The five dynamic narrators and action-packed plot deliver thrills while slyly undermining genre clichés. A first-rate page turner that leaves its own compelling afterimage.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“A fresh story with well-developed characters, fast-paced action, a fantastical world, and a hint of romance.” —SLJ