Hearts Still Beating

Gripping,romanticand impossible to put downthis dark and immersive post-apocalyptic debut novel is about two teen girls who loved each other before the end of the world ΓÇö and before one of them became infected with the virus that turned her into a monster. Perfect for fans of Krystal SutherlandAdam Silveraand the darkly human side of the HBOMax horror-dramaThe Last of Us. Seventeen-year-old Mara is deadΓÇömostly. Infected with a virus that brought the dead back to life and the world to its kneesshe wakes up in a facility to learn a treatment for the disease has been found. No longer a TickMara is placed in an experimental resettlement program. But her recovery is complicated by her destination: sheΓÇÖs sent to live with the best friend she hasnΓÇÖt seen since the world endedΓÇöand since their first and only kiss. Seventeen-year-old Rory is aliveΓÇöbarely. With impaired mobility from an injury and a dead sisterRoryΓÇÖs nightmares are just as monstrous as the Ticks that turned her former best friend. Even after the IslandΓÇöone of a handful of surviving communitiesΓÇörebuilds itselfRory is prepared for the Ticks to return at any time. She never expected them to come in the form of the only girl sheΓÇÖs ever loved. As the girls struggle with their pasts and the people theyΓÇÖve becomeand with the IslandΓÇÖs fragile peace in the balanceRory and Mara must lean on each other to surviveΓÇöor risk losing the girl they love all over again.