About the Book
Book: The Chaos Grid
Author: Lyndsey Lewellen
Genre: YA Science Fiction
Release Date: April 9, 2024
Cross the grid. Survive the storms. Let your destiny burn.
When mankind’s attempts to control nature backfire, Texas descends
into a wasteland. Storms rage and ravenous beasts roam the Outer Grid.
The only safe havens rest inside the tech-obsessed domed cities. But
when her parents are murdered inside the Plex City dome,
seventeen-year-old Juniper Conway wants revenge.
Ties to her extended family threaten to pull her back as she runs
from city to city. The Plex is endangering its citizens by legalizing a
deadly nano drug, and Juniper’s family needs her help to deliver the
counteragent. Saving the city who orphaned her goes against everything
she stands for. The only way out is to brave the wasteland.
Juniper joins a shipping crew fearless enough to transport food
across the Outer Grid. But when a string of bad luck turns lethal, she
fears something, or someone, is dragging her back to the Plex. As her
world sinks into chaos, Juniper must decide if revenge is worth the
lives of the crew she has come to love.
Click here to get your copy!
About the Author
Lyndsey Lewellen grew
up on a healthy dose of comic books, punk music, and sci-fi. She
infuses all three loves into novels written for young adults. Inside her
“what if” worlds, her characters take risks, grow, and fight for what
matters. When she’s not writing or whittling down her endless TBR, she
designs novel covers and paints on shoes. She lives on a small Texas
farm with her best friend/husband, five children, and what some might
call a zoo of animals (especially after meeting the peacocks).
More from Lyndsey
“‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.” – Matthew 21:29
No. It’s a word I’ve heard many times over in my early days of parenting five children. In fact, after mama and dada, no
was one of their earliest exercises of the English language. My eldest
son held the word on the tip of his tongue like a cowboy during a
high-noon showdown. Clean your room. No. Do your homework. No. Say you’re sorry. No. My children’s fondness of the word no is not a fluke, they come by it honestly. When something seems too difficult or overwhelming, I let loose the word no without giving it a second thought. At least in my heart I do. Yet, these days, I find myself saying yes while the no lingers on. Which, unless I actually do it, I’m sure is worse.
I think it is easier to follow a no with a yes when you can clearly see your wants are wrong. But what if the no seems justified? Then what?
In The Chaos Grid, Juniper Conway runs into this problem.
Growing up in a domed city with all the comforts of weather regulation
and short distance teleportation, on the surface, Juniper seems to want
for nothing. Nothing except revenge. After her parents are murdered in
the city that was supposed to keep her safe from the wasteland outside,
she vows never to lift a finger of help for anyone under the Plex City
dome.
Her plan goes well at first, bouncing from domed city to domed city,
never returning to the Plex. But one day, she is plagued with visions
calling her to either help those who took away her family or watch Plex
City burn to the ground. Deep emotional wounds cloud Juniper’s
judgement. She could never rescue people who caused her such trauma.
So, out comes the no.
Only, to say no, Juniper chooses a path through the
dangerous Texas wasteland, known as the Outer Grid, filled with mutated
beasts, wild storms, and vicious nano drug smugglers. Her only hope of
survival rests in the shippers, truck drivers who deliver natural food
from the protected farms to the domed cities. But becoming a shipper
carries its own costs. Unfortunate events rain down on her as she
crosses the Outer Grid, spilling over onto the crew. Eventually, she can
no longer write the chaos off as bad luck and must face what it really is—discipline.
It’s in those realizations that we come to a crossroads. When we know
our parents, bosses, or especially God disciplines us for what we do
wrong, do we change course? It’s a humbling action, I know, specifically
when you feel so strongly that you were in the right. But we humans
don’t live in a vacuum. The actions we choose today tend to splash
consequences onto others, whether good or bad. When that happens, it may
cause us to look at ourselves with more of a critical eye. Am I being
refined during this difficult time? Or is there a no I’ve said when I should’ve said yes?
For this reason, I believe the Psalmist writes, “Search me, God, and
know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any
offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” – Psalm 139:
23-24
As far as my children go, I’ve noticed wonderful changes as they
grow. My son, for instance, now in high school, still answers my
instructions with no at times. But more and more, he stops, assesses the situation, and comes back with a yes,
doing what was asked over simply telling me he’d do it. And while I’d
like to say his corrective behavior is due to my parenting skills, I
know it comes from the Holy Spirit urging him to follow the commands God
set up in the beginning. But I think it also comes from watching those
in his church community do the same. When we do what we should do,
others see it. The practice of doing God’s will over simply saying
you’ll do it, whether anyone sees you do it or not, can greatly change
our culture. Because God sees it. And His discipline is loving.
Sometimes it takes a good smack upside the head for us to recognize
His loving discipline. For Juniper, a wild ride through the
post-apocalyptic wasteland might just do the trick. I hope you will
follow her down a road of twists, turns, and the journey to do what’s
right when every fiber of you being tells you not to.
Buckle up and relish the drive,
Lyndsey
Blog Stops
Library Lady’s Kid Lit, April 30
Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, May 1
Simple Harvest Reads, May 2 (Author Interview)
Exploring The Written Word, May 2
Through the Fire Blogs, May 3 (Author Interview)
Texas Book-aholic, May 4
Artistic Nobody, May 5 (Author Interview)
Locks, Hooks and Books, May 6
Splashes of Joy, May 7 (Author Interview)
The Lofty Pages, May 7
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, May 8
Tell Tale Book Reviews, May 9
Wishful Endings, May 10
A Modern Day Fairy Tale, May 11 (Author Interview)
Blogging With Carol, May 12
Guild Master, May 13 (Author Interview)
Giveaway
To celebrate her tour, Lyndsey is giving away the grand prize package of a $50 Amazon gift card and hardcover copy of the book!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.
https://promosimple.com/ps/2b35c/the-chaos-grid-celebration-tour-giveaway