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Mohrbooks Literary Agency
Sebastian Ritscher
Original language
English
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THE MEADOWS

Stephanie Oakes

A queer, YA Handmaid's Tale meets Never Let Me Go about a dystopian society determined to "reform" anyone who is LGBTQ+ and the lengths to which one girl will go to save herself and her friends.
Everyone hopes for a letter - to attend the Estuary, the Pines, the Glades. To attend the Meadows. These are the secret places where only the best and brightest go, to learn to burn even brighter.

When Eleanor gets her letter, she knows she's freed from her hardscrabble life by the sea, in a country ravaged by climate disaster and war. But despite the Meadows' luminous facilities, endless fields, and pretty things, it keeps a dark secret: its purpose is to reform the students inside, to condition them against their attractions, to show them that one way of life is the only way to survive. Anything else, they're told, will topple a society already on the brink of collapse.

Five years later, Eleanor is an adjudicator, making sure the Meadows' former students don't stray from the life they've been conditioned to live. But Eleanor can't escape her past, or thoughts of the girl she once loved. Because that girl isn't here anymore. What happened to her could be no one but Eleanor's fault. And as secrets emerge that set Eleanor on a dangerous but determined search for the truth, she knows if she's not careful, it could be her fate too.
Available products
Book

Published 2023-09-12 by Dial Books

Book

Published 2023-06-13 by Dial Books

Comments

The Spokesman-Review (53,276 UVM) posted an article about the launch event for THE MEADOWS taking place on September 12 hosted by Northwest Passages. Read more...

Oakes' dystopian book is reminiscent of a YA Handmaid's Tale and toggles seamlessly between past and present... This gripping book will appeal to readers who enjoy dystopian books with feminist themes and stories that highlight the power of queer community.

Italian: Modadori/ Chrysalide

A story of pain, injustice, love, resistance, and hope, this glorious book will lodge inside you and make you feel everything.

Interview with author: With 'The Meadows,' Spokane author Stephanie Oakes walks a fine line with a difficult topic Read more...

[A] well-fleshed-out and unique story.[C]haracters are dynamic and developed... Stephanie Oakes creates an entire character out of the setting of The Meadows.

If you like novels that surround a dystopian society and a lovable heroine, then The Meadows is the next book for you. Author Stephanie Oakes paints a beautiful picture of protagonist Eleanor as she enters a new school called "The Meadows"... If you are looking for the next big dystopian tale, look for The Meadows wherever you get your books on September 12th.

[The Meadows] examines some pretty heavy subject matter, but does so realistically and respectfully under Oakes' deft hand... [P]age-turning... One of Oakes' greatest strengths as a storyteller is her knack for writing imagery- and emotion-filled descriptions of her character's reactions and internal monologues. Eleanor's longings for acceptance, memories of a lost love and even what she feels during a panic attack are visceral and vivid. Readers can feel this pain as deeply as she does... [S]pellbinding.

Inlander (94,223 UVM) posted an interview with Stephanie Oakes in the article "Spokane author Stephanie Oakes' spellbinding third novel, The Meadows, imagines a dystopian future in which queerness is outlawed." Read more...

Oakes doles out pieces of Eleanor's history in tantalizing fashion... The dystopic future is extremely believable... While the story has grim parallels to real legislation against trans youth, the resistance movement Eleanor seeks out is unabashedly queer and full of hope, with a resounding message that queer people will always exist, always find each other, and always fight back. This beautiful and important book is dystopian YA at its finest, and its themes of queer resilience and community will resonate for many years to come.

The following outlets included THE MEADOWS in most anticipated lists: She Reads (129,777 UVM) LGBTQ Reads (28,270 UVM) The Lambda Literary Review (20,738 UVM) Reads Rainbow

"The Meadows" is a well-written, thought-provoking, heart-breaking, gut-wrenching book. It is in no way light-hearted. It doesn't need to be. Tears were shed on my part - that was likely Oakes' goal. Read more...

Oakes employs evocative prose and worldbuilding shot through with equal parts melancholy and hope to craft an intelligent dystopian tale that proves a biting interpretation of contemporary issues surrounding conversion therapy, homo-phobia, misogyny, and racism.

[T]he tension at a constant simmer and a new revelation always around the corner. The book is cogent and incisive in its remarks on our present world: Surveillance culture, reproductive coercion, and anti-queer bigotry are all heightened to their very possible conclusions... Timely and gripping.