Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Apr 2024
432 pages
Genre: Thrillers
Publication Information
Outer Banks meets Bone Gap in New York Times bestselling author Samuel Miller's propulsive and genre-bending YA mystery, following a group of teenagers who discover a dead body while playing an app-based adventure game that sends players to "random" locations, unlocking a much deeper mystery about their small town.
In Calico Springs, Willie's life has been defined by two powerful forces: God and the river. The "miracle boy" died for five minutes as a young child, and ever since, Willie is certain he survived for a reason, but that purpose didn't become clear until he found the Game.
The Game is called Manifest Atlas, and the concept is simple: enter an intention and the Game provides a target—a blinking blue dot on the map. Willie's second time playing Manifest Atlas, his intention takes him to an ominous target: three empty graves. Willie is sure the Game is telling him he's going to die.
Willie's older brother, Bones, doesn't believe him, but their friends are intrigued. Sarai, a girl from across the river, sets the next intention: something bloody. The group follows the Game's coordinates and they discover something even more unsettling than the graves: a dead body. Sarai's stepfather's body. The Game is suddenly personal.
Willie is dedicated to proving the Game works while Sarai is set on finding out what happened to her stepdad. Bones just wants to enjoy his last summer before real life begins. As the group digs deeper into Manifest Atlas, stranger and wilder things begin to appear, unlocking a much deeper mystery running like an undercurrent through the small town.
"The page-turning suspense is a draw, but the book's ultimate strength is its skillful exploration of racial injustice in rural America...A multifaceted thriller with a powerful social message." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"In the richly detailed plot, Miller deftly captures the claustrophobic nature of small-town residents locked into what they believe is the way things should be." —Booklist (starred review)
"A lack of focus on Lawton residents somewhat dampens Miller's powerful depiction of Willie's awakening to his community's deep-rooted racism. Effective use of fictional newspaper articles, message boards, and testimonies establish the history of Calico Springs, and violent scenes are tempered by evocative and lyrical prose." —Publishers Weekly
This information about Dark Parts of the Universe was first featured
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Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Samuel Miller is a novelist and screenwriter, made in South Dakota, based in Los Angeles. His most recent novel, Redemption Prep, was a New York Times and Indie bestseller and is in development for television with MGM. His debut, A Lite Too Bright, released to critical acclaim and has been translated into four languages and published in eight countries. Sam wrote his first novel in a fifteen-passenger van while touring with his alt-rock band, Paradise Fears. In addition to writing novels he coaches Little League Baseball, walks his dog, and works to dismantle capitalist systems of power.
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