From the critically acclaimed author of We Are the Ants and At the Edge of the Universe comes a mind-bending, riveting novel about a teen who was born to a virgin mother and realizes she has the power to heal—but that power comes at a huge cost.
Sixteen-year-old Elena Mendoza is the product of a virgin birth.
This can be scientifically explained (it’s called parthenogenesis), but what can’t be explained is how Elena is able to heal Freddie, the girl she’s had a crush on for years, from a gunshot wound in a Starbucks parking lot. Or why the boy who shot Freddie, David Combs, disappeared from the same parking lot minutes later after getting sucked up into the clouds. What also can’t be explained are the talking girl on the front of a tampon box, or the reasons that David Combs shot Freddie in the first place.
As more unbelievable things occur, and Elena continues to perform miracles, the only remaining explanation is the least logical of all—that the world is actually coming to an end, and Elena is possibly the only one who can do something about it.
A Junior Library Guild Selection
★ “Surreal, brainy, and totally captivating.”
–Booklist starred review
★ “Provocative and moving . . . A thoughtful story about choice and destiny.”
–Publishers Weekly starred review
★ “Hutchinson artfully blends the realistic and the surreal. . . An entirely original take on apocalyptic fiction.”
–School Library Journal starred review
“A creative and original tale shot through with quirky humor that entertains while encouraging readers to ponder questions of free will and social responsibility.”
–Kirkus
The Apocalypse of Elena Mendoza contains the following: