A YALSA Best Book for Young Adults, Stranger captures the excitement of The Hunger Games, the immersive world of Shadow and Bone, and the special powers of The Darkest Minds. “A first-rate page-turner”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)In the post-apocalyptic world of the Change, people with mutant talents are powerful and hated, and even the trees can kill you.

Teenage loner Ross, wounded and hunted, walks out of the desert and into a town full of secrets. He brings with him a mysterious ancient book, the rage of a vengeful king, and a deadly power he can’t control.

In the walled town of Las Anclas, he confronts prejudice and danger. But he also meets the shy and brilliant teenage mechanic Mia, and the confident and passionate warrior Jennie.

The last time Ross got close to anyone, disaster followed. With his enemies closing in on him, he faces a perilous choice…''A fresh story with well-developed characters, fast-paced action, and a fantastical world''—School Library Journal (starred review)“Set against a post-apocalyptic Los Angeles that feels like a futuristic Wild West, this novel follows a diverse cast of characters in terms of both race and sexual orientation who must navigate a landscape full of telekinetic squirrels, man-eating trees, and a bounty hunter after an ancient book.

”—YALSA (American Library Association) The HubMore praise for Stranger:''Infused with a generous spirit - call it a utopian dystopia… Characterization is rich and stereotype-free… Equally exceptional is the depiction of conflict… The five dynamic narrators and action-packed plot deliver thrills while slyly undermining genre clichés. A first-rate page-turner that leaves its own compelling afterimage.

''—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)''Told in alternating third-person narratives by teenage citizens of Las Anclas (a desolate future Los Angeles), this dystopian novel follows a town's attempts to survive after a solar storm ravaged the world and mutated some of its inhabitants. The setting is both bizarre (deadly 'singing' trees can kill humans) and familiar - the story has a 'wild west' atmosphere as the town battles the elements and invaders with only basic weaponry.

The story's characters and their tightly woven relationships are well developed, and Brown and Smith provide plenty of narrative diversity, making each character's entry feel fresh, distinctive, and unexpected. The buildup to the action-packed ending does not disappoint.

''—Publishers WeeklyDon’t miss any of Rachel Manija Brown and Sherwood Smith’s The Change series:STRANGER • HOSTAGE • REBEL • TRAITOR. .