The Text - Paperback

"A gripping flight from totalitarian forces lurking in the shadows." -Kirkus Reviews

For readers who loved The Inheritance Games, Legend, or Calculated, prepare to be swept into a chilling conspiracy and nail-biting quest for the truth.

Those sworn to protect me now hunt me. I am the prey.

In 2048, 25 years after a pandemic killed one-third of the world's population, America is flourishing under the department of Safety Threats and Reinforcement (STaR). STaR keeps citizens safe and healthy and STaR's social media app, Allicio, boasts two billion users worldwide. Then a power outage shuts down STaR's health monitors and disables millions of mobile phones.

Sixteen-year-old Rami Carlton earned a starting spot on the varsity volleyball team. For fun, she races tech-genius Finley Drake to decipher the online identities of their techie friends. The game is harmless. So they thought.

Rami receives a chilling text message. That night, her mother disappears. Despite thousands of city-wide monitors, STaR's Reinforcement Division cannot locate Rami's mom and Rami's stalker threatens to kill her brother if she talks to Reinforcement Officers.

Then Finley hacks the nation's cellular provider and discovers STaR has a secret. STaR isn't just watching. They're manipulating Allicio. And Rami is their next target.

Award-winning author Julane Fisher explores a near future where technology not only governs citizens, it controls them.