The One Safe Place - Softcover

Unsworth, Tania

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1780622384 ISBN 13: 9781780622385

Publisher: Orion Children's Books, 2015

Synopsis

“What is this place?” In a drought-stricken world, Devin and his grandfather have barely scraped out a living on their isolated farm. When his grandfather dies, Devin knows he can't manage alone and heads for the nearest city to find help. But in the city he finds only children alone like him, living on the streets. Then a small act of kindness earns Devin an invitation to the Gabriel H. Penn Home for Childhood-a place with unlimited food and toys and the hope of finding a new home. But Devin soon finds out that the Gabriel Penn Home is no paradise. A zombie-like sickness afflicts many of the children who live there-and it will claim Devin, too, unless he can become the first to find a way out of this dystopian nightmare. “[A] chilling and engrossing tale . . . A standout.” -Kirkus Reviews, starred review “Fast-paced and gripping. An original dystopian story.” -School Library Journal, starred review “A timeless story that deserves to become a children's classic for decades to come.” -The Christian Science MonitorA Summer 2014 Kids' Indie Next List Pick One of the Christian Science Monitor's 25 Best New Middle Grade Novels of 2014

About this title

From the Inside Flap

In this near-future dystopia with echoes of The Giver and Among the Hidden, Tania Unsworth has created an unsettling page-turner--fast-paced, filled with dread--that s wholly satisfying and startlingly original.Devin doesn t remember life before the world got hot; he has grown up farming the scorched earth with his grandfather in their remote valley. When his grandfather dies, Devin heads for the city. Once there, among the stark glass buildings, he finds scores of children, just like him, living alone on the streets. They tell him rumors of a place for abandoned children, with unlimited food and toys and the hope of finding a new family. But only the luckiest get there.An act of kindness earns Devin an invitation to the Gabriel H. Penn Home for Childhood, but it s soon clear that this place is no paradise. As Devin investigates the intimidating Administrator and the zombie-like sickness that afflicts some children, he discovers the home s horrific true mission. The only real hope is escape, but the place is as secure as a fortress.Fans of dystopian fiction and spine-chilling adventure will devour The One Safe Place; its haunting themes will resonate long after they ve turned the final page."

From the Back Cover

“My granddad used to live here when he was young,” Devin began. “He said it was different then. It changed when it started to get hot. People stopped looking out for each other and lots of things that used to be organized just turned into a big mess.”

“Yeah?” Kit said without much interest. “Well, it’s like this now. And it’s not going to change. Some of the kids talk about getting out, how they heard about a kid who got adopted by rich people and went to live in luxury forever. Or that there’s a home somewhere where they feed you and you can play all day and have everything you want. But it’s just fairy tales.” Kit’s mouth set in a fierce line.

“Fact is,” she said, “we’re on our own.”

“Tania Unsworth has written a lightning-fast and  spine-chilling novel. Readers will root for Devin  with white knuckles and pounding hearts.” ―Michael Grant, New York Times bestselling author of Gone and The Magnificent 12

About this edition

• Publisher: Orion Children's Books
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 1780622384
• ISBN 13: 9781780622385
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256