About this item
New in paperback. A gripping survival story, by a best-selling author, of a strong girl rebuilding her life in a post-apocalyptic society where a contaminated drink makes victims act like zombies; just right for fans of James Dashner, Carrie Ryan, and The Walking Dead.After the Contamination - an epidemic caused by the diet drink ThinPro that turned ordinary citizens into shambling creatures unable to control their violent impulses - the government rounded up the "Connies" to protect the remaining population. But now, two years later, the government's started sending the rehabilitated back home, complete with shock collars that will either stop the Connies from committing violent acts or kill them before they do any further harm.Since her parents were taken in the roundup, Velvet Ellis has struggled to care for her 10-year-old sister and maintain a sense of normalcy, despite brutal government rations and curfews. She goes to the "Kennels" every day searching for her parents, and when she finds her mother, she's eager to bring her home. Sacrificing everything - her boyfriend, her home, and her job - Velvet will do anything to protect her mother. Velvet has to get the collar off her mother before the military comes to take her away. Even if it means risking all of their lives.Gritty and grabbing, Velvet is an emotionally rich dystopic venture into YA from a well-known and respected writer of women's fiction."...suspenseful...this dystopia speaks to a wide range of readers, including reluctant ones."--Kirkus Reviews"...This has plenty of suspense--it's not a book to read at bedtime."--BOOKLIST "Velvet may have a softer name than her literary predecessors Katniss, Cassie, and Kaelyn, but like them she has been forced to take on adult-sized responsibilities within her repressive society.... the plot moves quickly...more of a relation-based book than many other teen dystopian novels."--The Horn BookYou may visit Em Garner's website at www.emgarner.com, or follow her on Twitter @EmGarnerBooks.Also available in hardcover (ISBN: 9781606843543) and electronic (ISBN 9781606843550) book formats.
About the Author
Em Garner began writing at a very young age, always preferring the stories about what goes bump in the night. An avid reader of horror, science-fiction and fantasy, she first turned her hand to short stories about the sorts of things that hide under the bed...and she kept right on going.
Now Em spends most of her time in front of her computer, writing away at all the ideas she has swirling around in her head and hoping she can get them into a story before she forgets them.
She loves zombies, unicorns, and rainbows, the color purple and the smell of roses. She hates the smell of lilies, the feeling of corduroy and biting sandpaper. (Well. Who doesn't? )
She lives at the beach with her family, where she spends a lot of time reading and sticking her feet in the sand. She is afraid of sharks, but that doesn't stop her from going in the water.
