Praise for The Flicker:
"Edgmon’s middle-grade debut skillfully blends action and emotion . . . A compelling coming-of-age story." —Kirkus
"I'm so grateful to live in a world with Edgmon's writing, and The Flicker does not disappoint! With two beautifully unique and immersive POVS, Edgmon rips the reader apart, taking them past the point of certain hopelessness, and then — SOMEHOW! IMPOSSIBLY! — fixes them up with such skill and love, they will be left blinking in the sunlight. The Flicker is both a masterclass in character-driven narrative, a thrilling post-apocalyptic adventure, and a deeply moving story of Appalachia and the determination to survive." —Esme Symes-Smith, author of the Sir Callie series
"Bound up in a gripping page-turner, the soul of The Flicker is fierce, relentless love for chosen family, the natural world, and a humanity exploited almost to the point of extinction. With unblinking honesty, this story invites readers to hope, and hope tenaciously for a better way of living." —Alder Van Otterloo, author of Cattywampus and The Beautiful Something Else
“Millie and Rose grabbed my heart from the first page and refused to let go—even long after finishing their story. The Flicker is a brilliant middle-grade debut from Edgmon that’s equal parts unflinching and vulnerable. A beautifully crafted post-apocalyptic tale with a delightful, engaging queer cast, Edgmon’s story world burns bright with nuanced, complex themes of identity, family—both blood and found, and the pursuit of hope, purpose, and love in a hostile and dying world.” —Terry J. Benton-Walker, bestselling author of Alex Wise vs the End of the World and Blood Debts
★ 07/15/2024
For more than a year, Millie and her family have been hiding underground from the aftermath of the deadly Flicker, a solar flare that scorched Earth’s surface. After a scavenging mission gone wrong results in her stepfather’s death, Millie pledges to take her infant brother Sammy somewhere they can learn to survive nature’s new normal: South Carolina, home to Millie’s Seminole grandmother. Reluctantly accompanied by her white-cued stepsister Rose, Millie treks through a blistered Appalachia in search of her Indigenous roots. Along the way, Millie finds herself swept into a found family of survivors, becomes embroiled in Rose’s inquiry into a secret enclave, and must come face to face with a greedy, resource-hoarding organization called Hive. The palpable sense of futility that Millie feels in her pursuit of a better life for her and her siblings acts as a perceptive interpretation of tweens’ struggles to navigate contemporary societal upheaval. Meanwhile, incisive worldbuilding surrounding the climate collapse makes this middle grade debut a simultaneously cautionary tale and dystopian adventure in which Edgmon (Godly Heathens) showcases the unflagging power of community in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. Ages 8–12. (Sept.)