Elana Johnson, Jenny Han, Jessi Kirby and John Corey Whaley - signing

Dystopian YA fiction is hotter than ever, and debut author Elana Johnson, a technology specialist at an elementary school, has brought us an eerie futuristic novel that depicts a colorless, sterile world of technological innovation and mind control. Possession explores the question of just how far one girl will go to maintain her free will.

Vi is just your average teenage girl. She breaks the rules and she wants to be able to take a walk in the park with her boyfriend, Zenn. But the world Vi walks in is not like ours. It’s the Goodgrounds, a society full of special rules and powerful Thinkers who can brainwash any member of the population to help them achieve their own goals. So when Vi breaks the Rules one too many times, she winds up in prison and meets her match in the form of the equally rebellious Jag, who grew up in the Badlands without Rules and Thinkers. After escaping prison with Jag, Vi begins to wonder if maybe she isn’t really bad at heart after all. Vi has special abilities the rest of the Goodies and Baddies don’t have. If anyone has a chance at reclaiming control from the Thinkers, it’s Vi. But is she strong enough to fight the society she has grown up in? And will anything be left when the fight is over?

Elana Johnson is a contributor to the QueryTracker.net blog and the author of From the Query to the Call, an e-book detailing how to write a query letter and submit to literary agents. She lives in central Utah where she spends her time with many students, one husband, and two kids. This is her first novel. Find out more at www.elanajohnson.com.

"I couldn't put this book down. Kirby's voice is fresh and wise, all at once. An incredible first novel." --Sarah Dessen, New York Times bestselling author of Lock and Key

"Like sea glass, this smooth, radiant debut, reminiscent of Sarah Dessen, sets authentic and sympathetic characters working through a life-changing transformation against the backdrop of a steamy summer romance. Great for beach time—or anytime." --Kirkus Reviews

"Kirby is an author to watch, and her debut will be enjoyed by a large array of teens in search of identity stories."--Booklist

When Anna was little, she and her mother used to search for sea glass, but since they looked at night, they called it moonglass. Now, ten years after her mother's mysterious death, her father is working as head lifeguard on the same beach where her mother grew up and her parents first met and fell in love.

Reluctant to get close to anyone (including her father) and not pleased about having to start at a new school, Anna begins to spend more time alone, running the length of the beach and wondering about who her mother really was. After meeting a lifeguard named Tyler, she slowly lets her guard down and together they start exploring the abandoned houses that dot the beach.

But when learning more about her mother's past leads to a painful discovery, Anna must reconcile her desire for solitude with ultimately accepting the love of her family and friends.

Jessi Kirby lives in a historic cottage on the beach in Orange County, CA with her husband and two children. She is a former middle school librarian. You can visit her at jessikirby.com.