The Way of the Cicadas

An amnesiac survivor proves the outside’s habitability and spurs a group of bunker-borns on a gritty journey through an irradiated wasteland in this tense and poignant post-apocalyptic—perfect for fans of The 100 and Station Eleven.

Ten years after nuclear war devastated the United States, Hayden is bored of the meager rations, recycled air, and sterile light of the bunker he’s called home since childhood.

But when Brita, a mysterious woman with no long-term memory, becomes the first outsider to stumble upon the bunker, she proves to the underground city that the surface isn’t as hostile as those in power let on. Her arrival sets off a chain reaction that causes Hayden, Brita, and a handful of other residents to emerge.

The outside world is teeming with life, but also with danger they never anticipated. After an outside survivor betrays the group, they’re imprisoned by a military faction with the key to Brita’s identity. For Hayden to save his friends, he must uncover a past Brita would rather never remember—alongside secrets the bunker sheltered them from all these years.

An adult/YA crossover near-future post-apocalyptic novel with an ensemble cast featuring government conspiracies and secret military technology set in the Nevada desert.