A major debut in the queer YA space is almost here:Out of the Blueby Sophie Cameron.
Out of the Bluewas won at auction by Macmillan Childrens Publishing Group, and is already scoring strong reviews.
Safe to say: Its May 15 publication date is eagerly anticipated.
Credit: Courtesy of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group (2)
Check it out, and pre-orderOut of the Bluehere.
Excerpt fromOut of the Blue, by Sophie Cameron
I wait for the crash.
I wait for bones cracking, a neck snapping.
My eyes are scrunched shut.
My hands are clenched so tight, the handle of Perrys leash digs into my skin.
Theres a noise that sounds like fabric ripping, another of wood breaking.
I wait for that achingthwunk, the sound of a body breaking against the earth.
And then Perry begins to bark.
She runs off, yanking on the leash so hard I almost fall into the bracken.
My mouth goes dry.
Images swirl around my head: dull eyes, a smashed skull, blood seeping into the ground.
I dont want to see that.
I cannot, cannot see that.
But for some reason I keep running.
Perry bounds ahead, a white blur against the dark grass.
I run full speed after her, sprinting untilIm just a few meters from the tree.
she?flounders between the leaves, thrashing and kicking.
And this time, for the first time since the Falls began, the Being is alive.
We stare at each other, this angel and me, both of us too shocked to move.
Her eyes flick past my shoulders, over the place where there should be wings but arent.
I dont know what to say.
I come in peace?
Welcome to earth, population seven billion?
Um, I say.
My voice breaks the spell.
I stumble forward, my palms up.
I attempt to think, but my mind is full of white noise.
I should help her.
I should hide her.
I should get Dad, let him know he was right.
(Oh my God, Dad wasrighthes going to be unbearable when he finds out.)
The Being grabs the lowest of the trees branches and hauls herself up on trembling legs.
She teeters for a moment, but then her knees buckle and she slumps to the ground.
I move forward to catch her, but she screams and swings a punch at me.
I duck, and a great ripping sound tears through the air.
My breath catches in my throat.
Her right wing is torn down the middle, its pinkish feathers littering the ground.
The Beings face contorts in pain as she beats the wings together.
Theres another light tearing sound, as if shes ripped through gravity, and she begins to rise.
Relief radiates out of her as she floats upward: six inches, a foot, a meter .
But then she starts to wobble.
She falls back to earth with a bump, then gets up and tries again.
And a third time, and a fourth.
I can see the panic begin to set in.
Theres no way to escape.
Shes trapped here, on earth, with me.
He came here to find a Being.
Now that Ive done his job for him, we could probably go back home.
This time, she doesnt get up.
Her lip quivers, her eyes close, and she starts to cry.
Its okay, youre okay!
I reach out a hand toward her, but the Being flinches and pulls away.
The noise swells, her sobs growing louder and louder until Perry starts to howl along.
Wherever she comes from, they clearly dont have dogs there.
She wont hurt you.
They say dogs can sense fear, but mine doesnt notice the Beings.
Thousands of pounds worth of Beings blood, being eaten by my dog.
If the Wingdings could see this.
She puts her hand on Perrys haunches, then snatches her fingers away as if shes been scalded.
After a moment, though, she touches Perrys back.
She strokes her fur, her expression veering from fear to wonder.
As I watch, my thoughts of handing her over to Dad slowly curdle into sickly shame.
It would be the simplest solution, but I cant bring myself to do it.
Everything about her, from her eyes to the tentative way she strokes Perry, is just too human.
The cults would be worse.
Shed probably end up as a pet for some billionaires bratty kids, or as a sort-of-human sacrifice.
I cant let that happen.
I have to help her.
She deserves to be treated like one.
And that means getting her out of here.
I squint into the darkness.
This part of the hills is stark, with hardly any trees or bushes for cover.
The Being wipes her hand across her nose, still crying softly.
We have to go.
I point toward the other side of the hill and mime running.
Youre not safe here.
We have to go!
Her expression stays blank.
Slowly, I edge my hand toward her and slide my fingers into hers.
The touch of her skin is soft as mist, like shes hardly there at all.
Its a slow process.
The Being is limping, and her right wing is drooping so low it almost brushes the grass.
My stomach flutters with nerves.
Itll be a miracle if we can make it to the other side without anyone spotting us.
Then again, its a miracle shes alive at allmaybe a second one isnt too much to ask.
As we follow the path toward the foot of the hill, the rotting building comes into view.
I pull the Being back and crouch down by some gorse bushes.
I fall to the ground, pulling the Being down with me.
The feathers tickle the nape of my neck.
A voice comes floating out of the darkness.
Did you hear something?
Not scared of the dark, are you?
The girl laughs and pulls the boy toward her.
Theres some shuffling and lip smacking as they kiss again.
My pulse is pounding so loud, Im sure theyll hear us.
Footsteps crunch on the stones, but then theres silence.
I poke my head over the bushes.
The couple have disappeared.
Come on, I whisper.
The ruin is much more exposed than I realized.
I kick the rubbish out of the way, clearing a space for the Being on the ground.
Look, like this.
She follows my lead as I ease into a crouching position.
(Not very successfully, given the pterodactyl-size wings attached to her back.)
Shes completely naked underneath.
Until now, I hadnt even given it a second thought.
Past the pond, headlights sweep across the road.
I press myself against the wall, my heart in my mouth.
The car glides by, disappearing around the corner and past the Parliament.
That was too close, I murmur.
Ill come back, I tell the Being.
Ill go home and get you some clothes, and then well figure something out, okay?
Its far from ideal, but right now its all I can think of.
This is a dream.
This is really,reallydamn ironic.
But I dont have time to think about why its happening, or what it all means.
Theres only one question on my mind:
Where the hell am I going to hide an angel?
