Hi everyone. Today I am featuring a book tour around the book, "Upheaval," by: A.E. Faulkner. She has provided a sneak peek for you all to enjoy and fun details about the book. Check everything out and make sure to purchase a copy of her book today to start the series while book 2 is just around the corner. Happy reading everyone :).
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Some secrets were never meant to be uncovered
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Upheaval
The Divided States Series Book 1
by: A.E. Faulkner
Genre: YA Dystopian Fantasy
BLURB:
The Divided States of America, 2121
A hundred years after the Great Infection Spread swept across countries and continents, barriers rose and borders closed. Nations isolated themselves in protective siloes as survivors faced starvation, disease and the daunting task of rebuilding. The United States was carved into three Territories, each ruled independently.
Today, the three Societal Order leaders ration everything – clothing, food, energy – because demand drowns supply. To conserve resources, citizens are declared either day dwellers or night dwellers, essentially limiting their existence to 12 hours each day.
Where you’re born is where you stay. Until now.
Everly Scott is preparing to graduate from her final year of schooling when she’s chosen to serve on an inter-Territory delegation. As one of twelve delegates, she will help assess and recommend updates to the Alliance Agreement, which outlines trade and peace relations between the Territories.
Everly embarks on the journey of a lifetime – crossing the Xone walls to learn about people and places that have always been well out of reach. It’s the greatest opportunity she’s ever had. And also the most dangerous one.
Secrets lurk within each Territory and Everly’s about to find out what happens to those who uncover them.
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I scan the clusters of swarming bodies in search of Josli. Rising on my tiptoes, I spot her at our usual table, tucked in the far back corner of the room. Catching my eye, she drops her bag and sweeps through the crowd to meet me. We seamlessly slip into the flowing line and wait our turn to collect lunch rations. As mundane as the routine is, it's comforting. Will I eat in a cafeteria like this in Centrestates?
"Soooooooooooo . . . how're you doing?" Josli nudges my shoulder as we scan the limited options.
"All right," I admit. She sneaks a side-eye glance my way as I reach for a shallow bowl of noodles in a gloppy white sauce. "I just have no idea what to expect. And I hate that."
"It's like an adventure." Wrinkling her nose, she slides a plate of slightly burnt fish sticks onto her tray. "And you won't be completely alone. Hayes isn't exactly Mr. Excitement, but at least you'll have someone with you. And he won't know anyone either."
"Yeah." I shrug and force a weak smile. She's just trying to make me feel better. How am I going to do this without her?
We shuffle through the chute of remaining food options, selecting a few of the less nefarious-looking concoctions. We drop into our seats as if this is any other day, but the feel is all wrong. I pick at my lunch while Josli chatters about how fast my time in Centrestates will go and how I'll probably like it way better than Eastates. I nod and shrug, playing along with her impossible prediction. Mid-bite, her eyes fly open wide and she slams a palm down on the table.
“Ev, I just realized. You’re going to meet nocts! Real night dwellers!” I cringe at her use of the slang term for night, or nocturnal, dwellers. She knows we're not supposed to call them "nocts," but it flows from her freely as excitement overtakes my best friend. I wonder if she'd be offended if someone called us "dayds" instead of day dwellers.
She presses her palms together, resting her elbows on the table. It's a useless effort to restrain her mounting anticipation. "Promise me you'll memorize every detail about them! I need to know what they eat, how they dress, what they look like . . ."
That's typical for Josli – craving every drop of gossip I can squeeze out of this trip. Still, my heartbeat surges as her words sink in. I have a feeling I'll find out the answers to all her questions and more.
She pauses momentarily to stab a dry hunk of fish stick and nibble on it. I welcome the break in questioning. But as soon as she chews and swallows, she restarts where she left off.
"Everly, you must be wondering too! Maybe all the nocts are tall, dark and scary!" She twirls an auburn lock of hair around her finger, staring at me expectantly but I shoot her a wary expression.
My eyes dart from side to side, assessing if anyone around us is listening. Luckily they're all caught up in their own conversations, oblivious to our words. They hover over their plates and bowls, pushing food around as they share laughter and gossip. Any buzz over the big announcement is already fizzling, replaced with the latest rumors about who's got a crush on who. Still, paranoia pushes me to exert caution.
"Josli! I don't think we should be talking about all of this." It's not like our conversations are monitored, but this delegation is something directly from the Societal Order leaders. She doesn't even flinch at my warning, but if one of the educators heard us talking like this, they might believe we were making light of it. The least that would happen is we'd be reprimanded for speaking disrespectfully of the Divided States leaders and citizens.
"Oh no one cares! But they will care when you get back! And I'm going to be the first to know every detail about everything you see and do there!" Just as quickly she shifts back to speculating about the night dwellers. "So, what do you think they're like?" Her eyes flash with a curiosity that borders on being prohibited. Sighing inwardly, I resign myself to the topic. She's not going to let it go.
I slump in my seat, eager to end the conversation. Maybe class would be a good distraction right about now. “Night dwellers are probably exactly like us. Who knows if I’ll even be able to tell the difference between them and the other day dwellers. Besides, we’ll probably just be sitting in classrooms together. We may not even have a chance to talk about anything interesting.” My indifference only fuels her curiosity.
“If it's a delegation, you'll have meetings, where you all sit around and talk. And I bet they'll take you to the capitol. At the very least you should get a tour, but maybe you'll even have your meetings there. And . . . since that's in the upper division, you'll function like day dwellers." She folds her arms and leans back in the chair, obviously pleased with the information she's deduced. Never mind that she could be completely wrong. When I respond with a noncommittal smirk, she continues. As she leans forward in her chair, a smile bursts across her cheeks.
"Do you think the nocts will be dozing off?” She yawns and flutters her eyes as if she can't keep them open. "You'll all be in the middle of an intense discussion and one of them will start snoring!" She's enjoying this way too much.
“Just because they’re used to being inside during the day doesn’t mean they sleep every hour that the sun is up. They’re not vampires!”
"Well, just in case, keep your neck covered!" she warns, wrapping her palms around her neck protectively in feigned worry.
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**Don’t miss Book 2 - Uprisingl!**
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A.E. Faulkner
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A. E. Faulkner was born and raised in Pennsylvania. When she’s not lost in a book, she loves spending time with her husband and two sons, especially while hiking, biking, or exploring nature. She loves almost everything about nature—ticks excluded, and one of her biggest fears is the repercussions we will face when nature can no longer tolerate human destruction. As such, she never tires of reading dystopian-themed tales. Stories about the end of the world absolutely fascinate her.
Follow A.E. Faulkner at the Following Links:
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The excerpt sounds really intriguing. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing Upheaval!
ReplyDelete