CALM

In a near-future Britain, a drug flows through the water supply, keeping people passive and emotionless.

The calmadrug, administered by the Servants via calmasprings to keep the populace docile, doesn’t work on everyone. The immune are called Resistors; Abstainers are those who choose to avoid it. Like many others whose parents died during the societal collapse called the Great Calm, 16-year-old Resistor Owyn Caldwell lives in a state residential school. Warned by a teacher that he’s in danger when the calmadrug stops working on him, Owyn goes on the run. Meanwhile, 14-year-old Tiegan Archer and her 8-year-old brother, Joel, who are white, witness their Resistor parents’ abductions by the Servants. After being sheltered by neighbor Mr. Khan, they flee too, hiding in safe houses and trusting precious few adults. The journey is dangerous, but there are rumors of Resistor strongholds in the north, and eventually the three young people’s paths cross. Still, going unnoticed in a society of the emotionless presents unique challenges. After Owyn, who’s Black, experiences racism for the first time, an older man observes that “life free of the calmasprings has its drawbacks.” Although using the drug means experiencing “no passion, no joy, no delight,” it also results in “no hate, no anger.…No fear of difference.” In her page-turner, debut author Baker evokes dystopian despair reminiscent of classic titles. Morally ambiguous characters give the story depth; readers will not know whom to trust.

A gripping examination of our human need to feel.