Divided We Fall (Divided We Fall Series #1)

by Trent Reedy

Overview

"DIVIDED WE FALL delivers cover-to-cover action, intrigue and suspense, all with a gut-punch of an ending that'll leave you begging for the next installment." -- Brad Thor, author of THE LAST PATRIOT

Danny Wright never thought he'd be the man to bring down the United States of America. In fact, he enlisted in the Idaho National Guard because he wanted to serve his country the way his father did. When the Guard is called up on the governor's orders to police a protest in Boise, it seems like a routine crowd-control mission ... but then Danny's gun misfires, spooking the other soldiers and the already fractious crowd, and by the time the smoke clears, twelve people are dead.

The president wants the soldiers arrested. The governor swears to protect them. And as tensions build on both sides, the conflict slowly escalates toward the unthinkable: a second American civil war.

With political questions that are popular in American culture yet rare in YA fiction, and a provocative plot that asks what happens when the states are no longer united, Divided We Fall is Trent Reedy's very timely YA debut.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780545543675
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	01/28/2014
Series:	Divided We Fall Series , #1
Pages:	384
Sales rank:	658,096
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.60(d)
Lexile:	HL760L (what's this?)
Age Range:	14 - 17 Years

About the Author

Trent Reedy is the author of WORDS IN THE DUST, winner of the Christopher Medal and an Al Roker's Book Club pick on the Today Show, and STEALING AIR. Trent and his wife live in Spokane, Washington. Please visit his website at www.trentreedy.com.

Read an Excerpt

From DIVIDED WE FALL:

Lieutenant McFee ordered our squad ahead with a hand motion. Sergeant Meyers on point held his rifle up above his head with both hands. I walked after them on the far left. Inside my gas mask, I could hear my every breath heavy and loud. I kept my thumb on the safety switch of my gun and my finger right next to the trigger.
"Oh God," I prayed. "Please help me get out of this one. This stuff isn't cool anymore. I just want to –"
Something smacked into my mask and my weapon went off. Through the cracked plastic of the eyepieces, I saw the flash out of the end of my barrel.
“Hold your fire!” someone shouted.
How had that happened? Someone threw a rock and hit me and I was surprised. Must have accidentally –
Another gunshot went off. Wasn't me. A third shot.

Editorial Reviews

★ 11/18/2013
In this stunning trilogy opener, Reedy (Words in the Dust) envisions a near-future America on the verge of disaster, where political discord, economic crisis, and a controversial new law have created tension between state and federal governments. Enter 17-year-old Pfc. Daniel Wright, a football-playing, truck-driving, country music–loving high school senior and member of the Idaho National Guard. When his unit is called to help with a potential riot in Boise, things get out of hand, eventually sparking a full-blown conflict between Idaho and the Feds. Caught between duty to family, loyalty to the military, and his own sense of honor, Daniel becomes a pawn in a much larger game between governor and president. In a story line tied to current affairs, Reedy tackles pressing issues with prescient clarity and delicate sophistication. His setup is terrifying in its plausibility and made all the more so by Daniel’s conflicted everyman nature, with both sides portrayed as sympathetic yet flawed. Though the tech is slightly futuristic, this cautionary tale screams immediacy and urgency, a page-turner that rapidly moves toward a catastrophic cliffhanger. Ages 14–up. Agent: Ammi-Joan Paquette, Erin Murphy Literary Agency. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

Advance Praise for DIVIDED WE FALL:

"Powerful and timely! Trent Reedy's chilling tale hits hard as an ambush. Prepare to lose sleep reading what could be your very near future . . ."
— W.E.B. Griffin & William E. Butterworth IV, New York Times bestselling authors of The Last Witness and Hazardous Duty

"Tense, heart-wrenching, and all too believable–I can't wait to read more!"
– Tamora Pierce, New York Times bestselling author of Battle Magic and Terrier

"DIVIDED WE FALL is a brilliant, thrilling, heartbreaking novel by a writer who absolutely must be read. Trent Reedy balances disturbing subject matter with heartfelt insight, and he does it all with great style. Listen closely, because this is an important new voice in YA fiction."
— Jonathan Maberry, New York Times bestselling author of Extinction Machine, Rot & Ruin, and Fire & Ash

Praise for WORDS IN THE DUST

Winner of the Christopher Medal

"Both heart-wrenching and timely." -- KIRKUS REVIEWS

"A beautifully written novel that introduces young readers to a fascinating culture." -- PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE

Praise for STEALING AIR

"A great choice for any reader, but especially for those who enjoy adventure." -- LIBRARY MEDIA CONNECTION 

From the Publisher

2013-11-13
In the first installment of a trilogy set in the near future, 17-year-old Pfc. Daniel Christopher Wright fires the shot that may spell the end of the United States. When Danny's Idaho National Guard unit is called to police a protest in Boise, Danny is hit by a rock and accidentally discharges his weapon, causing other Guardsmen to open fire, killing several protestors. When President Rodriguez demands that Gov. Montaine turn over the names of the soldiers involved and begin enforcing the new federal ID-card law, a standoff ensues. The conservative governor vows to resist a federal government grown too big and will nullify the new law. Since nullification means insurrection according to Article VI, Clause 2 of the Constitution, federal troops are called in, and the crisis escalates. Danny's story is threaded between frequent and lengthy italicized news reports that keep readers abreast of the political situation. Given the dramatic battle scene depicted on the cover, readers may be disappointed to find that the action in Volume 1 is intermittent, as the political and military pieces are set in place for the sure-to-be-dramatic concluding volumes. Projecting 19th-century nullification crises into a not-so-distant future, Reedy creates a credible military thriller. (Thriller. 14 & up)

Kirkus Reviews

02/01/2014
Gr 8 Up—Popular high school football player Daniel Wright loves his country, so the moment he turns 17, he joins the Idaho division of the Army National Guard. Daniel is looking forward to a bright future in Freedom Lake with his girlfriend JoBell at his side; he hopes to earn enough money from the Guard to help pay for auto tech classes and eventually purchase full ownership in his deceased father's garage. When his company is mobilized and sent to Boise to help maintain the peace between protestors and proponents of the Federal ID Card Act, Daniel never imagines that people would die, that he would be the cause of their deaths, or that his future-and the future of the United States-would forever be altered. Author Reedy's first book in a planned trilogy is an action-packed look at what could happen in an America where state and federal governments are at odds with each other. Set in a not-too-distant future, the book mixes patriotism with incredible realism, creating an all-too-possible pre-dystopia. Using the enactment of a controversial law as the catalyst, Reedy effectively places the audience in Daniel's shoes as he struggles with his feelings and actions in the aftermath of the riot, and it is this first-person perspective that will resonate with readers long after the thrilling final pages. Strong characters, a fast-paced narrative, and complex questions about what it means to be an American make Reedy's speculative novel a must-read.—Audrey Sumser, Cuyahoga County Public Library, Mayfield, OH

School Library Journal

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