Please join us in celebrating the February 1st release of The Ghost Squad, written by esteemed WU contributor Sophie Masson.
Born in Indonesia of French parents, and brought up in France and Australia, Sophie Masson is the award-winning and internationally-published author of over 70 books for children, young adults and adults. A former Chair of the Australian Society of Authors and current Chair of the New England Writers’ Centre and President of the Small Press Network, in 2019 Sophie received an AM award in the Order of Australia honours list.
Imagine a world where all seems normal and yet nothing is – a world very much like our own, yet jarringly unlike. A world where two clandestine organisations, the Ghost Squad, and the Base, are engaged in a secret battle for control of information so dangerous it could literally change life as humans have always known it…
A bold, exciting YA novel with thrilling twists and turns, The Ghost Squad is a novel that will keep readers guessing – and keep them awake at night!
‘Get set for a heart-stopping chase, a stunning near-future world, and a desperate struggle to discover the truth about life, death and what comes next.’ — Alison Goodman, author of the bestselling Dark Days series
‘An action thriller that grapples with the biggest mystery of all: life after death.’ — Michael Pryor, author of The Laws of Magic
‘A dynamic and exciting thriller with smart, relatable characters…should appeal to fans of Stranger Things and readers of John Marsden’s ‘Tomorrow’ books.’ — Books+Publishing
Q1: What’s the premise of your new book?
The premise behind the new book is that, twenty years before the action starts, a major magnetic pulse caused by a huge solar flare hit the Earth and has not only caused chaos but also revealed the first glimmer of something that was not thought possible till then. Twenty years later the ramifications of that are still being felt, but most of the population don’t suspect quite how transformative it’s been, as a secretive government organization known as The Ghost Squad and a secretive underground resistance group known as the Base battle it out for control of information so dangerous and powerful it could literally change everything forever. In the midst of this teenagers Polly and Swan, who come from very different backgrounds, must band together to help an enigmatic little boy called Kel who is on the run and being hunted by all sides.
Q2: What would you like people to know about the story itself?
It’s an exciting, pacy thriller told alternately from the points of view of Polly—daughter of a homicide detective who’s gone missing—and Swan—a young Base operative—with many twists and turns, set in an unsettling world that feels almost normal, close to our own and yet which couldn’t be more different.
Q3: What do your characters have to overcome in this story? What challenge do you set before them?