Sweet Harmony

by Claire North

Overview

From the bestselling and award-winning author of The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August and 84K, a darkly inventive novella about the dangers of pursuing perfection.
Harmony is tired. Tired of working so hard, tired of the way she looks, tired of being average.
But all that changes when she decides to splash out and upgrade her nanos. And why not? Everyone's doing it now. With a simple in-app purchase, you can update the tech in your bloodstream to transform yourself - get enhanced brain power, the perfect body or a dazzling smile. Suddenly, everything starts going right for her. She's finally becoming the person she always wanted to be.
But as Harmony will find out, there's a limit to how many upgrades a body can take . . .
Previous books by Claire North:The First Fifteen Lives of Harry AugustTouchThe Sudden Appearance of HopeThe End of the Day84K
By the same author, writing as Kate Griffin:A Madness of AngelsThe Midnight MayorThe Neon CourtThe Minority CouncilThe Glass GodStray Souls

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316498876
Publisher:	Orbit
Publication date:	09/22/2020
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Sales rank:	791,137
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Claire North is a pseudonym for Catherine Webb, a Carnegie Medal-nominated author whose first book was written when she was just fourteen years old. She went on to write several other novels in various genres, before publishing her first major work as Claire North, The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August, in 2014. It was a critically acclaimed success, receiving rave reviews and an Audie nomination, and was included in the Washington Post's Best Books of the Year list. Her next novel, Touch, was also in the Washington Post's Best Books of the Year, in 2015. Catherine currently works as a theatre lighting designer and is a fan of big cities, urban magic, Thai food and graffiti-spotting. She lives in London.

Editorial Reviews

Narrator Lucy Rayner clearly differentiates dialogue, narrative, and recorded voices in this novella, which explores technology, credit, and ambition in a future England. In Harmony’s world, success and relationships depend on the enhancements (nanobots) a person buys; for example, a dental nano provides a perfect smile and fresh breath for only a few pounds a month. Rayner’s performance underscores Harmony’s slow decline as she loses the battle to balance the purchase of upgrades with her deepening debt. Rayner helps listeners feel Harmony’s distress as unpaid bills trigger her nanos to stop working, her boss fires her, and her fiancé walks away. When Harmony begins to see a way out of her troubles, Rayner’s tone perfectly conveys an addict’s justification for doing what’s needed for just one more enhancement. C.B.L. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

DECEMBER 2020 - AudioFile

Narrator Lucy Rayner clearly differentiates dialogue, narrative, and recorded voices in this novella, which explores technology, credit, and ambition in a future England. In Harmony’s world, success and relationships depend on the enhancements (nanobots) a person buys; for example, a dental nano provides a perfect smile and fresh breath for only a few pounds a month. Rayner’s performance underscores Harmony’s slow decline as she loses the battle to balance the purchase of upgrades with her deepening debt. Rayner helps listeners feel Harmony’s distress as unpaid bills trigger her nanos to stop working, her boss fires her, and her fiancé walks away. When Harmony begins to see a way out of her troubles, Rayner’s tone perfectly conveys an addict’s justification for doing what’s needed for just one more enhancement. C.B.L. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

DECEMBER 2020 - AudioFile