Survive the Dome

Amid civil unrest, the citizens of Baltimore are trapped within an experimental, impenetrable policing dome in Jackson’s (Yesterday Is History) page-turning novel. After the acquittal of a police officer for the murder of Black single father Jerome Thomas, aspiring journalist Jamal Lawson, 17, arrives to document the resulting Black Lives Matter protests, hoping to secure his place to study photojournalism at Columbia University. Declaring a state of emergency, Maryland’s governor and white chief of police, Ian Coles, erect the dome, which cuts off all communication to the world beyond it. Jamal is led to safety by Marco Gonzales, a tan-skinned, tight-lipped teenage hacker. As tensions run high and Coles begins using excessive force against anyone he deems “a problem,” Jamal and Marco devise a plan to reveal the atrocities within the dome to the outside world. In a first-person POV that’s both unafraid and unapologetic, Jackson brings a sci-fi twist to the reality of police brutality and the oftentimes literal silencing of marginalized peoples, putting queer people of color at the helm of effective change. Though the pace teeters near the end, this thrilling read will leave a lasting impression. Ages 14–up. Agent: Jim McCarthy, Dystel, Goderich & Bourret. (Mar.)