Love Is the Drug - by Alaya Dawn Johnson (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

From the award-winning author of The Summer Prince comes a novel that blends John Grisham's The Pelican Brief and Michael Crichton's The Andromeda Strain set at an elite Washington D.C. prep school.

Emily Bird was raised not to ask questions. She has perfect hair, the perfect boyfriend, and a perfect Ivy-League future. But a chance meeting with Roosevelt David, a homeland security agent, at a party for Washington D.C.'s elite leads to Bird waking up in a hospital, days later, with no memory of the end of the night.

Meanwhile, the world has fallen apart: A deadly flu virus is sweeping the nation, forcing quarantines, curfews, even martial law. And Roosevelt is certain that Bird knows something. Something about the virus -- something about her parents' top secret scientific work -- something she shouldn't know.

The only one Bird can trust is Coffee, a quiet, outsider genius who deals drugs to their classmates and is a firm believer in conspiracy theories. And he believes in Bird. But as Bird and Coffee dig deeper into what really happened that night, Bird finds that she might know more than she remembers. And what she knows could unleash the biggest government scandal in US history.

Review Quotes

Praise for The Summer Prince

*"Like leaping into cold water on a hot day, this original dystopian novel takes the breath away, refreshes, challenges, and leaves the reader shivering but yearning for another plunge." -- Booklist, starred review

*"With its complicated history, founding myth, and political structure, Palmares Tres is compelling, as is the triple bond between June, Enki, and Gil as they challenge their world's injustices." -- Publishers Weekly, starred review

*"An art project, a rebellion and a sacrifice make up this nuanced, original cyberpunk adventure ... Luminous." -- Kirkus Reviews, starred review

Longlisted for the National Book Award

A Kirkus Best Book of the Year

About the Author

Alaya Dawn Johnson is the author of The Summer Prince -- which received three starred reviews, was longlisted for the National Book Award, and was named a 2013 Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year -- and Love Is the Drug, the 2014 Nebula Award winner for best young adult novel. Her short stories have appeared in many magazines and anthologies, most notably the title story in The Memory Librarian, in collaboration with Janelle Monáe. She lives in Mexico.