The Word Exchange

Book excerpt: 'Spine-tingling' New York Times 'A fast-paced, thrill-a-minute début novel' New Yorker 'Graedon knows how to ratchet up mystery' Esquire WORDS ARE UNDER THREAT. IT'S TIME TO FIGHT BACK... Imagine a world without words. A world in which books, libraries and newspapers are things of the past. A world where personal devices provide all you could want or need. Anana Johnson and her father, Doug, are hard at work on the final edition that will ever be printed of the English Dictionary. But one evening, Doug disappears and Anana unearths a single written clue: ALICE. In the battle to save her father, Anana discovers secret societies, dark incinerator rooms and underground passages. Above all, she finds a world that faces ruin from the dark side of technology. Praise for The Word Exchange 'A nervy, nerdy dystopian thriller' New York Times Book Review 'A propulsive, twisty future-noir' Daily Beast 'Spectacular' Karen Russell, author of Swamplandia! and Vampires in the Lemon Grove 'Dazzling' Slate 'Wildly ambitious, darkly intellectual and inventive' Kirkus Reviews, starred review