I Hope You Get This Message

by Farah Naz Rishi

Overview

In this high concept YA novel debut that’s We All Looked Up meets The Sun Is Also a Star, three teens must face down the mistakes of their past after they learn that life on Earth might end in less than a week.

News stations across the country are reporting mysterious messages that Earth has been receiving from a planet—Alma—claiming to be its creator. If they’re being interpreted correctly, in seven days Alma will hit the kill switch on their “colony” Earth.

True or not, for teenagers Jesse Hewitt, Cate Collins, and Adeem Khan, the prospect of this ticking time bomb will change their lives forever.

Jesse, who has been dealt one bad blow after another, wonders if it even matters what happens to the world. Cate, on the other hand, is desperate to use this time to find the father she never met. And Adeem, who hasn’t spoken to his estranged sister in years, must find out if he has it in him to forgive her for leaving.

With only a week to face their truths and right their wrongs, Jesse, Cate, and Adeem’s paths collide as their worlds are pulled apart.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062741455
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	10/22/2019
Pages:	432
Sales rank:	98,142
Product dimensions:	5.70(w) x 8.50(h) x 1.50(d)
Age Range:	13 - 17 Years

About the Author

Farah Naz Rishi is a Pakistani American Muslim writer and voice actor, but in another life, she’s worked stints as a lawyer, a video game journalist, and an editorial assistant. She received her BA in English from Bryn Mawr College, her JD from Lewis & Clark Law School, and her love of weaving stories from the Odyssey Writing Workshop. When she’s not writing, she’s probably hanging out with video game characters. You can find her at home in Philadelphia, or on Twitter and Instagram @farahnazrishi.

Editorial Reviews

09/16/2019

When humans are notified via a coded message that the fate of Earth is to be decided in one week by an interplanetary jury of 13 Scions (randomly selected citizens of the planet Alma), things on Earth veer into chaos. Earth—or Project Epoch—is deemed a failed experiment, and the Alma believe it’s time to end it, unless the Scions determine otherwise. Adeem, a Muslim teen from Carson City, is en route to Roswell to find his sister Leyla, who ran away soon after coming out. San Francisco teen Cate decides to find her father; based on limited details from her mentally ill mother, she heads to track him down. Rounding out the cast is Roswell native Jesse, who boots up one of his late father’s inventions to allegedly send messages to Alma on behalf of desperate, paying customers. As news spreads about Jesse and his machine, he unwittingly provides hope to many, and Roswell becomes a destination point for those trying to make the most of their time left. Part road trip story and part tale of human resilience, this debut examines human nature and how people react in the most desperate of times. Though Rishi’s cast of characters are seemingly strangers, clues throughout show how lives can intersect. Through inserted transcripts from the jury’s debate and the actions of the teens and those who help them along the way, Rishi paints a clear picture of why humankind is worth saving. Ages 13–up. Agent: Stephen Barbara, Inkwell Literary Management. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

Imaginative, funny, and frank, I Hope You Get This Message is a must-read debut about love, loss, hope, and the real-world choices we make in our final days.

Sona Charaipotra

Heart-wrenching, absorbingly clever, and beautifully written. Rishi deftly balances a tale of global consequences with riveting, intimate, and deeply personal stories. I Hope You Get This Message is one of the best and freshest YA stories I’ve seen in a long time.

R.F. Kuang

A stunning and bold debut, the kind of sweeping story that is devoured in a single sitting. Part Arrival, part They Both Die at the End, this is an emotional tale of three kids who face their own demise with hope, courage, and a whole lot of bad decisions.

Mark Oshiro

Thought-provoking and full of heart, I Hope You Get This Message reminds us how fragile and fleeting time can be. One of the best debut novels I’ve read in a long time!

Akemi Dawn Bowman

If aliens were to read Rishi’s beautifully written book, they would discover that human beings are gloriously weighed down by gravity—the gravity of love, of memory, and most of all of our connections to each other. This is a vital debut with a big, beating heart.

Abdi Nazemian

The end of the world has never been this mesmerizing. I couldn’t look away from Farah Naz Rishi’s stunning debut that shows humanity in all its many shades of truth.

Adam Silvera

10/01/2019

Gr 8 Up—What if Earth were a grand experiment by a group of alien scientists on a planet we never even knew existed? What if, seven days from now, the experiment was scheduled to end and all of the test specimens marked for termination? And what if the fate of all humans hinged on the deliberations of a group of aliens light years away? Jesse is a troubled kid living with his overworked mom, struggling to find his purpose in the almost abandoned community of Roswell. Adeem is a gifted coder bored with school and longing to understand why his sister left their family years prior. Cate has her hands full taking care of her mentally ill mother. When the planet Alma announces its deliberations and intent to end the experiment they call Project Epoch, everyone on Earth reacts to the potential end of the world differently, and these three are pushed to get answers to the questions that haunt them. Will they find the answers they seek before Alma finishes its deliberations? The book is told in alternating chapters from the points of view of its three protagonists. The main characters are well-crafted and, while their motives are all different, the desperation and need to complete their tasks comes across as genuine. Telling an end-of-the-world story can sometimes feel melodramatic, but Rishi chooses to focus her narrative on her characters and their individual struggles as opposed to the world at large, keeping the story personal. The tone and pace are well balanced and there are even a few touches of humor to help lighten the mood. VERDICT An entertaining, well-written coming-of-age story set during the end of the world.—Erik Knapp, Davis Library, Plano, TX

School Library Journal

2019-07-26
NASA has intercepted information revealing that an alien race will be deciding Earth's fate in one week.

Against this doomsday backdrop, three teens must decide what to do with their remaining days. Adeem, a Pakistani American Muslim, lives in Carson City, Nevada, and misses his big sister, Leyla, who disappeared from his life two years ago after coming out as gay. Cate, a white San Francisco girl living with her mentally ill mother, wants to find the father who abandoned them. Jesse, who is gay and white, lives with his widowed mother in Roswell, New Mexico. Once word spreads that the aliens of the planet Alma are sitting in judgment, worldwide chaos ensues. Adeem, a ham radio enthusiast, hears a message from Leyla and sets out for Roswell, where the message originated. Cate goes on a quest to find her father. Jesse discovers a machine created by his father and starts a lucrative scam "sending" messages to Alma. The three teens' compelling stories overlap and intertwine. Transcripts from Alma's Interplanetary Affairs Committee offer clever insight into the moral dilemma faced by the 13 alien jurors who must weigh the value of human life against our species' violence, cruelty, and environmental destruction. The inclusion of details of Adeem's Muslim background and the understated acceptance of the gay characters are strengths.

Tautly plotted, with realistic characters and situations, this debut will please enthusiasts of both science fiction and realistic fiction. (Science fiction. 13-18)

Kirkus Reviews

Rishi’s debut novel skillfully addresses complex contemporary issues on both the global (environmental damage, war, greed) and personal (identity, mental health) scales.

Horn Book Magazine

For Adeem, Cate, Jesse and readers alike, the end of the world might turn out to be the beginning of hope.

BookPage.com (starred review)

Rishi’s debut consistently tugs heartstrings, and the multiple perspectives allow an intimate look into each character—their brand of pain may vary, but it hurts just the same.

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