Description

Putting the cult back in cult fiction, this is a darkly witty and sharply questioning debut

A chilling vision of a contemporary USA where the sinister Church of America is destroying lives. Our cynical protagonist, sixteen-year-old Vivian Apple, is awaiting the fated ‘Rapture’ – or rather the lack of it. Her evangelical parents have been in the Church’s thrall for too long, and she’s looking forward to getting them back. Except that when Vivian arrives home the day after the supposed ‘Rapture’, her parents are gone. All that is left are two holes in the ceiling…

Viv is determined to carry on as normal, but when she starts to suspect that her parents might still be alive, she realises she must uncover the truth. Joined by Peter, a boy claiming to know the real whereabouts of the Church, and Edie, a heavily pregnant Believer who has been ‘left behind’, they embark on a road trip across America. Encountering freak weather, roving ‘Believer’ gangs and a strange teenage group calling themselves the ‘New Orphans’, Viv soon begins to realise that the Rapture was just the beginning.

Publisher Review

Katie Coyle tackles the world of cults in a mature and light way, and Vivian Versus the Apocalypse is a witty and original take on contemporary America. * Stylist * Have you ever read a book that made you want to be a braver person, one that is beautiful and scary and funny and heartbreaking and genuinely weird all at once? Vivian Versus the Apocalypse is that kind of book ... I promise that as soon as you pick up the book you won't be able to stop reading it. * Rookie * Katie Coyle's writing is a breath of fresh air: sharp, funny and distinctive ... Conjouring up a chilling vision of a contemporary USA dominated by evangelical religion, this is an impressive and original debut, which will grip readers right up until its perfectly-pitched ending. * Booktrust * There's friendship, betrayal, romance and an increasingly empowered youth, all in one fantastically original read. * We Love This Book * Both premise and prose are fresh and exciting ... A compelling, thought-provoking read that balances the very largest of concerns ... with one girl's personal choices and relationships. Teen readers (and indeed adults) will appreciate this enormously, and eagerly anticipate Katie Coyle's next book. * Inis magazine *