Name: One of Us
ISBN: 9780316411318

Craig DiLouie

A startlingly remarkable novel set in 1984 where a group of teenagers begin to discover powerful secrets about themselves, and learn that the only way to create their own future is to break away from previous generations. They call it the plagueA generation of children born with extreme genetic mutations. They call it a homeBut it's a place of neglect and forced labour. They call him a FreakBut Dog is just a boy who wants to be treated as normal. They call them dangerousThey might be right.

One of Us

'The Girl with All The Gifts meets To Kill A Mockingbird' Claire North, author of The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August 'It's quite rare to find a story with this much heartbreaking impact . . . this is skilful, powerful stuff' SciFiNow THEY CALL IT THE PLAGUE A generation of children born with extreme genetic mutations THEY CALL IT A HOME But it's a place of neglect and forced labour THEY CALL HIM A FREAK But Dog is just a boy who wants to be treated as normal THEY CALL THEM DANGEROUS They might be right The story of a lost generation, and a boy who just wants to be one of us. 'One of Us is a stunning achievement in speculative fiction' Shelf Awareness 'An amazing tour-de-force . . . One of Us rattled me to the core. An engrossing, emotionally-charged book and a work of terrible beauty. I loved it, heart and soul' John Dixon 'Without a doubt one of the best books I'll read this year . . . a compelling work of near perfection' Bracken MacLeod 'This is not a kind book, or a gentle book, or a book that pulls its punches. But it's a powerful book and it will change you' Seanan McGuire

Janice Hopper

This book didn't really work for me.

All I could think was that it was like X-Men fan fiction, set in a 1980's Georgia town that seemed to me to be more like a 1930's Georgia town. 

An STD has caused children to be born with various kinds of deformities that often make them appear animal-like. And as they get older, they develop even MORE powers. The children are kept in homes and treated like sh*t, or slaves. Nobody cares for them, though there are a couple of townfolk who are mildly sympathetic.

Meanwhile, the mutant children plot revolution.

It was readable, but I found nothing new and interesting here. But I've read SF/F for 50+ years, and it's hard to find a book with a plot that's actually new and interesting.

I will say that the Southern accent & dialog sounded pretty good to this Southerner's ears.

Autumn McNees

Eabha Ni Lionaird

They call it the plague A generation of children born with extreme genetic mutations They call it a home But it's a place of neglect and forced labour They call him Dog But Enoch is just a boy who wants to be treated as normal They call them freaks They might be right 'An amazing tour-de-force . . . One of Us rattled me to the core. An engrossing, emotionally-charged book and a work of terrible beauty. I loved it, heart and soul' John Dixon, award-winning author of Phoenix Island 'Without a doubt one of the best books I'll read this year . . . [it] has The Island of Dr Moreau's social conscience, the X-men's imagination and Harper Lee's heart. But it is DiLouie's skill as a storyteller that blends all of that into a compelling work of near perfection' Bracken MacLeod, award-nominated author of Stranded