We Were the Cuckoo Bees (Paperback or Softback)

"Don't let them know you're smart. They don't like smart."

Moments later, Andrew's world shatters.
After a violent regime sweep, Andrew is taken from his parents' Pennsylvania farm by the Queens of Freedom—powerful women who govern a rigid theocratic society shaped by pandemics, fear, and control. Renamed and relocated to the immaculate Dairytown Borough, he is placed in the household of the head Queen, a woman whose carefully managed family is as performative as it is volatile.
As Andrew grows into his new life, he begins to sense that the town's wholesome surface hides something darker. Whispers travel through clean streets. Rules tighten. Loyalty is tested. And the people closest to him may not be who they appear to be.
When Andrew is forced into a dangerous double life, every choice becomes a calculation. In a world where intelligence is a liability and trust can be fatal, survival depends on knowing when to stay silent—and when to risk everything.