When We Vanished

by Alanna Peterson

Overview

Winner of the Moonbeam Children's Book Award (Young Adult Fiction Silver Medalist)

When Andi Lin overhears details about a harmful research study at the food corporation Nutrexo, she's instantly worried that her dad is involved. He left home to participate in one of the company's clinical trials, and was in frequent contact at first-but her recent attempts to reach him have been met with silence.

Fearing he may be in danger, Andi sets out to investigate. She finds an unlikely ally in her neighbor Cyrus, whose mother once worked for Nutrexo and is hiding secrets of her own. Their search for answers leads them to the head scientist at Nutrexo's confidential research facility, where they learn that the truth is more complicated-and more devastating-than they ever could have imagined.

This captivating debut is at once a page-turning thriller, a contemporary coming-of-age story, and a thought-provoking look at the consequences of our desires for power, success, and control.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781952149016
Publisher:	Rootcity Press
Publication date:	06/02/2020
Series:	Call of the Crow Quartet , #1
Pages:	376
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.84(d)
Age Range:	14 - 18 Years

About the Author

Alanna Peterson graduated from the University of Washington in Seattle with degrees in molecular biology and nutritional science. She has worked in a variety of settings throughout her career, including a microbiology lab, a research kitchen, an intensive care unit, a food justice nonprofit, and a shaved ice booth. She is the award-winning author of the Call of the Crow Quartet, a series of young adult thrillers. More information about her books can be found at alannapeterson.com.

Editorial Reviews

Winner of the Moonbeam Children's Book Award (Young Adult Fiction Silver Medalist)

"An unflinching and absorbing thriller."

-School Library Journal

"Nothing is what it seems in this exciting young adult thriller by Alanna Peterson, who knows how to mix up a test tube full of mystery, adventure, and hard choices, set against the glorious mountains and forests of the Northwest. When We Vanished is the first in a quartet of books. Don't miss Number One!"

-Perri O'Shaughnessy, Author of the NYT Bestselling Nina Reilly Series

"I was completely engrossed as I gobbled down each chapter. When We Vanished is an entertaining, solid, and hopeful book."

-Gina Siciliano, Award-Winning Author of I Know What I Am: The Life and Times of Artemisia Gentileschi

"When We Vanished is a big adventure about big food with big ideas, and enough twists to keep you turning pages until the very end. The first installment in the Call of the Crow Quartet bodes very well."

-Raj Patel, Author of Stuffed and Starved: The Hidden Battle for the World Food System

"The relationships and personalities that make up the characters' world drive this thriller into unexpected places."

-Butler Children's Literature Center

From the Publisher

05/01/2020

Gr 9 Up—Peterson debuts with an eco-thriller, the first of a quartet focused on raising awareness about the dangers of processed and genetically modified foods. Andi Lin and her mother are doing everything they can to keep anyone from finding out that her father's new job is as a participant in a clinical food trial at Nutrexo. When Andi hears executives whispering about a dangerous research study, she worries it might be the same one her father is involved in, especially since she hasn't heard from him in over a week. After she asks her neighbor Cyrus Mirzapour to help, they wind up in over their heads: a nonviolent protest ends in a bombing and they are held captive alongside Cyrus's older brother Naveed and younger sister Roya. Trapped and desperate to discover the truth, Andi and Cyrus find themselves at the center of a conspiracy with consequences that are hard to imagine—and closer to home than either of them realize. In sharing these timely, important messages, Peterson highlights graphic scenes of animal cruelty and human torture when Naveed is sprayed with a noxious pesticide as part of the villain's continued experiments. While these scenes viscerally showcase the dangers of modifying foods, particularly the increased spread of antibiotic-resistant infections, the violence may outlast the message, no matter how worthy. VERDICT An unflinching and absorbing thriller suitable for readers comfortable with gore and grit.—Emma Carbone, Brooklyn P.L.

School Library Journal