Any Second

Gr 10 Up—Emerson's latest dives deep into the troubled minds of a kidnapping victim–turned–suicide bomber and one of his would-be victims, each riddled with PTSD and trying to stay afloat in the wake of that traumatic day. Eli and Maya are brought together through highly dangerous circumstances—Eli has recently been strapped with explosives and set loose at the mall by his kidnapper in order to blow up everyone in his vicinity for the sake of an end-of-days ideology. Luckily, the bomb has a faulty wire and while mall-goer Maya's quick thinking and calm presence helps buy enough time for it to be diffused, their problems are far from over. The two struggle to deal with the aftermath of that day, each feeling as though a bomb has ripped through their lives regardless, leaving myriad physical and emotional scars. Tensions reach new heights as the anniversary of the event looms closer, with copycat killers emerging on the Internet and Eli's kidnapper seeming to be hidden around every corner, his words still embedded in Eli's own mind. Deeply disturbing on multiple fronts, this novel is not for the fainthearted. Issues of sexual assault, violence, animal abuse, and self-harm are explored.