One of Us

August 24, 2015
This provocative thriller, Waudby’s debut, is set in a modern society divided between everyday citizens and the minority Brotherhood, a quasi-religious group that is the target of discrimination and institutionalized oppression. As the two sides move toward Reconciliation, terrorist attacks from the Brotherhood threaten to destabilize such efforts. After narrowly surviving a bombing, 15-year-old orphan K is recruited by the police to go undercover with the Brotherhood in hopes of ferreting out its radical elements. Instead, she finds acceptance and another side to the story, as well as the beginnings of romance. Increasingly distrustful of her handler, K—now known as Verity—tries to break free in order to dictate her own destiny. In making the details of K’s world generic, Waudby draws on universal themes that can speak to almost any “us vs. them” conflict, be it religious, ethnic, or cultural. However, knowing so little about the setting—such as why the conflict exists in the first place or what makes the Brotherhood distinct—also distracts from the story, weakening an otherwise compelling narrative with a strong protagonist, relatable characters, and tense plotline. Ages 13–up.

September 1, 2015
Fifteen-year-old K discovers deception on all sides when she infiltrates a terrorist group After narrowly escaping a bomb attack on New City's subway system, K is asked to go undercover at a school run by the group responsible for the attack, the Brotherhood. New City's citizenry sees the Brotherhood as the enemy; they are a large minority group that has existed outside the mainstream for many years. Orphaned at 2 when her parents were killed in a Brotherhood attack, K agrees to spy on the group, hoping to put a stop to their reign of terror. With a new identity, K moves into the Institute in order to identify students being lured into the Brotherhood's extremist factions. But as K is assimilated into the Brotherhood, she begins to question everything she's been taught about them. She wonders whom to trust, who the bad guys really are-and who she really is. In her debut, Waudby both draws parallels to real-world issues of religion and violence and makes them personal: K wants not only justice, but love, home, and a family. It's an irresistible page-turner that's full of complex characters rather than stereotypes, tackling a sensitive subject with storytelling that is as engrossing as it instructional about prejudice and the gray areas between right and wrong. A timely and riveting debut thriller about tolerance and the complexities of truth. (Thriller. 13 & up)

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Starred review from October 1, 2015

Gr 7 Up-Fifteen-year-old K has no family and no home. She has been told that her parents died in a bombing orchestrated by the Brotherhood, a radical separatist organization. Raised by her grandmother, then dumped in a halfway house, she has never gone to school and has no idea where she can go or what she can do when she turns 16 and is out of the care system. When she barely escapes death in a train bombing, her rescuer recruits her to infiltrate the Brotherhood and bring him names of those involved in violent activities. At first, K, whose new name is Verity Nekton, thinks she is doing right and avenging her parents' deaths, but gradually she finds that the Brotherhood is far more complex than she has been led to believe. She also finds that for the first time in her life, she has a home, friends, and family, as well as a budding romance with Brotherhood member Greg. As she begins to question what she has been told, she uncovers one deception after another until she must make a decision about her relationship with the Brotherhood and face a horrifying betrayal. This is a taut, suspenseful thriller that has obvious parallels with current political events, but what really makes this stand out is the characterization of K/Verity Nekton. The teen is strong and resourceful, but she is also morally conflicted and vulnerable to manipulation. The depictions of her growing affection for the Brotherhood community and her struggles to do the right thing are absolutely believable. VERDICT Recommend this one to teen readers who have tired of dystopias and are looking for something new and different.-Kathleen E. Gruver, Burlington County Library, Westampton, NJ

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2015
Grades 9-12 Shocked from a Brotherhood subway bombing, K, an orphan, is adrift in the world, flunking school and without job prospects. So it seems fortunate when Oskar persuades K to infiltrate the Brotherhood, a plaid-wearing group that lives apart from Citizens and adheres to a different set of morals and ideals. They are the source of the Strife, and K takes on an identity that might allow her to reveal their secrets and save lives. What K doesn't count on is liking many aspects of Brotherhood life, falling in love with Greg, or feeling manipulated by Oskar. Waudby creates a fog of disquietude where both the reader and K become lost, and a final revelation will cause readers to think deeply about how easy it is to manipulate those disconnected from society and in need of a sense of belonging. In the end, whether K is Brotherhood or Citizen matters less than the understanding that social differences rarely occupy such tidy categories in real life. Impactful and thought provoking.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)