Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Publisher: Inkitt
Publication Date: November 27, 2017
Pages: 208
Format: ePub
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Evil comes in all shapes and sizes. It's up to three kids, brought together by extraordinary circumstances, to save their school from a monster hiding in plain sight...before it finds them.

When Theo Aldrige loses his family in a gruesome murder, he sinks into a bottomless pit of depression. After a failed suicide attempt, he meets Sally and Reuben - classmates of his who are also in dire straits. Sally is dying of a rare disease that steals her sleep, and Reuben is struggling to relate to the people around him while hiding the darkness of his home life. One day, the three unintentionally discover that they've acquired powers that seem to fix their worst flaws. Where did these abilities come from? And how do they control their newfound powers without being exposed?

While trying to make sense of these changes, the new friends come across a disturbing secret in their very own high school. A force of destruction that only Theo, Sally, and Reuben can stop.

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*Please note that this is in a series and I've only read the first book.*

I was thoroughly impressed by this story. The novel was written well. Although the concept of the story was not new, the author handled that well and managed to put a new spin on the idea. It was awesome. I also enjoyed the unique characters and how each managed to connect with each other, the blossoming friendships and the realization how much they needed each other.

Sally
She seemed like the invisible girl. Quiet, kept to herself. Having spent a better part of her life trying to avoid the spotlight while suffering from an inability to sleep. She also tried to avoid the spotlight due to bullying. But I enjoyed watching her blossom, start to trust Theo and Reuben. It's like her new magical skill woke up the real Sally.

Reuben
He is a loner and a troublemaker. Which is interesting because troublemakers like to draw attention to themselves, and rarely are loners because of it. He had this larger than life personality. But oh man, once you find out what his home life was like, it was no wonder he struggled so much.

Theo
Oh man, Theo. He was the most broken. A former jock with all the glory. Losing his family wrenched all of that out of his hands. He battled so much depression and even contemplated suicide while living with his foster family. My heart broke for him.

Jane
Although Jane isn't a part of the group with Reuben, Theo and Sally, she's also going through her own changes. She's even more of a ghost than Sally, which means very few people would notice any changes about her. Not-Jane then comes along and livens things up for her. It will be interesting to see how these two fair with the other three in the future.

So I definitely recommend giving this a chance. Hopefully it garners the same interest that I had in it.

McKenzie Rae is the author of the book Dysfunctional: Origins. She attended the University of Minnesota where she received a Bachelor of Science in technical writing, however, she's been writing fiction and telling stories since she was a kid. Currently, she works as a software system tester and uses her spare time to continue writing fiction. Origins is her first published novel, with many more novels waiting in the wings. McKenzie lives in a Twin Cities suburb in Minnesota surrounded by family, friends, and her cat.

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Germany, 1954. Jozef grows up in a happy household – so it seems. But his father Gerhard still harbours disturbing National Socialism ideals, while mother Catharina is quietly broken. She cannot feign happiness for much longer and rediscovers love elsewhere. Jozef is uncertain and alone. Who is he? Are Gerhard and Catharina his real parents?

A dark mystery gradually unfolds, revealing an inescapable truth the entire nation is afraid to confront. But Jozef is determined to find out about the past and a horror is finally unmasked which continues to question our idea of what, in the last hour, makes each of us human.

A terrifying and heartbreaking story.

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Who or what inspired your novel?
GB: One person, Juliet – my wife. She is the most amazing, most kind and warm person I have ever met. She has a spinal cord injury from a car accident and naturally got me interested in disability rights and how they are behind civil and gay rights as effective movements and forces of real change today. The stories I could tell you about a lack of disabled rights here in the UK – through my shared experiences with Juliet - would take your breath away. Equally, I think attitudes are changing and have changed. People are more understanding and tolerant. The big thing for me maybe now would be the commercial world and big business has to adapt to make places – shops, hotels, restaurants – much, much more accessible. Access, even in a brand new hotel say, is often quite poor and unacceptable for the higher premium they force disabled people to pay. It’s a quiet scandal in this country no-one is really addressing.

What would you say is the genre of your novel?
GB: Historical fiction.

How did you develop your plot and characters?
GB: I had the plot in the back of my mind for a while. Then it all just came together in a moment when I wasn’t consciously thinking about it. I knew then where I was starting from and where I wanted to end. The rest I honestly didn’t really think through, which was naïve and foolish. I just went for it. I read a lovely quote – I can’t remember by who now – that all a writer can do is follow his lead characters and try and keep up. I felt like that a lot of the time. The plot just grew organically while I was writing. I was very, very lucky I didn’t really go off piste.

Who or what inspired your protagonist?
GB: Apologies! I am very politely not going to answer that one. All I will add is that I believe in leaving mystery to the reader. People can read what they want into things. As a reader and viewer, that’s how I like to be treated, so I in A Quiet Genocide I am returning that courtesy.

Who or what inspired your antagonist?
GB: I can honestly answer this question and say nobody. Who then? I don’t really know – subconsciously then a complete mix of lots and lots of characters from lots of books and films and dramas I have read and watched over the years.

What was the most difficult part to write in the book?
GB: The climax, certainly – creating that drama and fitting finale, and ending the race, so to speak after all the build-up of pace and events throughout the second half of the story. Lots of intense writing and then forensic sharpening up of chapters afterwards. The final scene itself – and the final punchline to the plot - came very quickly and naturally though, conversely. Maybe I had earned that bit of luck.

What was your favourite part of your book to write?
GB: The middle part of the story where Jozef, the main character leaves home and tries to find his feet at university. I just enjoyed writing it. It felt good; it felt like my story was really working. I was happy in that flow.

Can you tell us a little about yourself and your background?
GB: I studied modern history at university [in Dundee, Scotland] and got a first job in regional newspapers, as a trainee reporter in Lincolnshire about an hour from where I grew up. It was a tiny weekly paper with only five reporters – and four of us were trainees on terrible money. But it was great fun; really exciting; I loved it. Everyone did a bit of everything really. I used to do court reporting in the week, which was in on old converted church, so the press bench really was a bench and an old pew. You had a numb bum by lunch! I also reported on football, my love at the weekend. It was a special time, looking back.

Who or what inspired you to be an author?
GB: My inspiration to become an author really came from a sheer of love of writing and of writing for people potentially interested in the stories I had to tell. If I had to name one person it would be my English teacher from my teenage years at school, Mr Roger Staniforth. A fantastic man and mentor, who – 100 per cent – is embodied in the character Herr Slupski in A Quiet Genocide.

Are you a full time or a part time writer? If part time, what do you do besides write?
GB: I am very much a part-time author. Full-time, I work in content and communications for a company in finance in Berkshire, west of London.

What are you currently reading?
GB: I am currently reading Savage Continent, a wonderful and breathtakingly comprehensive history of mainland Europe in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War. It is by Keith Lowe. Keith’s history – of how whole communities and places had literally disappeared by 1945 – inspired the front cover of A Quiet Genocide. That idea and image of total absence and decay of things we have left unattended.

What are some of your favourite books or authors?
GB: There is a theme here. I love Catch-22 by Joseph Heller and Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut. Pioneers and titans really of 20th century literature. Their work is fearless and immensely moving, in a way that can inspire and change the way you view history.

What are your future projects, if any?
GB: None at present. I just need that seed of an idea though and that deep urge to follow it, and I might be very quickly away again!

What is your preferred method for readers to get in touch with you and your books?
GB: You can contact me on Twitter @GlennMBryant. Or I am very happy for people to email me at [email protected]

Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?
GB: Never. Ever. Give up. You are good enough; your ideas are good idea; your writing is good enough. You never know when that breakthrough will come.