From all outward appearances, Jade Nemo is trouble. The jet-black hair. The nose ring. Her father is absent—perhaps even missing, her step-mother doesn’t know what to do with her, and now she’s been accused of hatching a master plan of attack at her high school, planting explosives in a student’s locker. But no one has bothered to ask Jade what her side of the story is. Until her teacher, Ms. Pearson, and the new school counselor, Mrs. Hamelin, give her a chance. Jade swears she has no intention of violence, and the true threat is Cassie Winters, the popular blond lacrosse captain who no one recognizes as the manipulating bully that she is—not to mention the questionable motivations of Flynn Jonovich, the striking enigmatic artist who holds both her heart and her fate in his hands. She’s not sure what to do—so she runs—and now the hunt is on. They’re calling her a “dangerous, possibly armed, runaway.” A psychiatrist, someone Mrs. Hamelin said she could trust, gives her shelter and a chance to escape it all—but under two conditions: she must close her eyes and follow her instructions. Should she trust her? The Land of Deep Darkness, inspired by The Pied Piper of Hamelin fairytale, is the story of redemption and the power of love to break through all barriers. It’s the tale of a resilient young woman who’s determined to uncover the truth about her father, no matter what it costs her.

​

Genre & Tone: Literary / Dark Fiction, Identity, belonging, transformation