The Key To Fear
by Kristin Cast
Narrated by Dascha Polanco
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Pub Date Oct 13 2020 | Archive Date Dec 07 2020
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Description
No touching today for a healthy tomorrow.
For fifty years, the Key Corporation has defended humanity against a deadly virus that spreads through touch. Lovers don’t kiss, or even hold hands. Personal boundaries are valued above all. Break the laws, and you’ll face execution.
Elodie, a talented young nurse, believes in the mission of the Key and has never questioned the laws that control her life. But Elodie is forced to break the rules when she sets out in search of a terminal patient who goes missing while under her care.
From the outside, it seems like Aiden was given everything he could want from the Key—a purpose, an education, and a future. But Aiden knows more than he’s letting on, and the dark secrets he’s keeping could tear the Key’s strict society apart.
When Elodie and Aiden’s lives collide, the fallout will be devastating. What do you do when the brutal system that once kept you safe hunts you down?
Run.
“For me it is key to support other women in the arts and for women to unite and support each other. When I was asked to narrate this project for Kristin Cast, I was more than excited to portray her vision and story through my tone and delivery. I am big fan of her personal story and hustle."
–Dascha Polanco, on narrating THE KEY TO FEAR audiobook
A Note From the Publisher
Advance Praise
*A Publishers Weekly Pick of 2020 Pandemic Novel for Young Readers*
“In this propulsive series starter, Cast imagines a corporation-controlled post-pandemic world in which human touch is highly regulated…Cast aptly portrays a sense of unease among people living heavily governed lives.”
-Publishers Weekly
“Although her characters are forbidden to touch, Cast proves once again that she is an expert at making her readers feel. The Key to Fear consumed me with its intricate world-building and richly layered characters, sending me hurtling to the end with twist after unexpected twist. Look no further for your key to entertainment!”
-Pintip Dunn, New York Times bestselling author
“Immersive, chilling, and yet deliciously sweet, The Key to Fear is a compelling story of forbidden love and dangerous secrets that explores a terrifying future with an important message for our own world.”
-Emily Suvada, author of This Mortal Coil
“Timely, disturbing and an ending designed to make the reader demand, ‘What happens next?’”
–Joelle Charbonneau, New York Times bestselling author of The Testing trilogy, and Verify
“With intricate world-building and expert plot twists, Kristin Cast delivers a timely story about authoritarianism and resistance that will leave you breathless.”
–Caleb Roehrig, author of White Rabbit and Last Seen Leaving
Marketing Plan
• Major new series launch from #1 New York Times bestselling author Kristin Cast
• Prepublication buzz, outreach, and giveaways
• National tour
• National features and reviews
• YA books promotional campaign
• Print and digital advertising
• Social media campaign and sweepstakes
• Featured author at major consumer, library, and regional bookseller shows
Available Editions
| EDITION | Audiobook, Unabridged |
| ISBN | 9781538546000 |
| PRICE | $19.95 (USD) |
| DURATION | 9 Hours, 18 Minutes, 18 Seconds |
Links
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
Jessica J, Reviewer
Anything by Cast is an auto-purchase for me so I was thrilled to get the advanced audiobook for this!!
I really liked this right from the start and found myself enthralled the entire way through. It definitely has some play off of the current pandemic but it makes you wonder how this will change our future in the next fifty years.
The MC was relatable and I found myself swooning over the mysterious Aiden and found I wanted to run off with him too! I loved the little details of the simplicity of our current worlds like fresh grown food and fun is taken advantage of because of technology.
Anyone who loves a good post-pandemic story will love THE KEY TO FEAR, I can't wait for the next one to come out because this definitely left you on edge!
Katrina R, Reviewer
They key to fear is a really unique book and at times utterly bizarre. Some moments felt like the life we are living at this very moment during a pandemic. Almost to close to home but also made it that much more terrifying.
Leah H, Reviewer
This book hit way too close to our current situation to not creep me out. I love a good dystopian story. This was no different. The whole pandemic wiping out humanity and people having to distance and quarantine. "No touching today for a healthy tomorrow" Could it be any more relevant. Honestly There wasn't much about this book I didn't love. The rebels and the fight against a corrupt government. Elites vs the 99% style. Maybe dystopian novels aren't as hot as they used to be.. but I am still a sucker for them.
Marcia H, Librarian
The key to fear by Kristin Cast
This book hooked me right away. Obviously from the description I was immediately feeling the tension of art impersonated reality. With the way the world is now, I’m often thinking about the loss of “touch”. Those quick hugs when greeting a friend. The longer embraces of comfort offered to a loved one in pain. The simple act of holding one’s hand while watching a movie or going for a walk. These are things I personally already miss and I can still do them occasionally. The description of a world years after a pandemic decimated the human race and those that survived living under the rule of a corporation know as the Key. Living by the strictest law of all no touching. Well it drew me in right off the bat. The main players in this story Elodie, Aiden, and Blaire, along with many interesting supporting characters did a great job of bringing this world to life. Elodie and Aiden seem at first to be so different from everyone they know. Why do they question? Why do they each engage in small acts of defiance almost daily? It seems only natural that they would find each other and feel connected immediately. But that very connection leads them down a path that they might not be able to return from. This book is clearly set up to be the start of a series. The pacing is fast and the reader races along just wanting to know what happens next? I would recommend this book to fans of the Hunger Games, Divergent or even the lesser known Matched trilogies for the similar dystopian settings, first person narratives as well as the underlying idea of free will vs. determinism. For the narrator Descha Polanco was wonderful. Descha’s voice gave this story a slightly ethnic feel which I appreciated. I knew I had heard this voice a lot somewhere and I finally looked the name up on IMDB. Seeing Descha’s face OITNB immediately jumped to mind. Since this is a YA book I’m not sure how recognizable she will be to teens, but I really enjoyed the narration. I will definitely be looking for the next in this series.
Kristina H, Reviewer
The Key to Fear by Kristin Cast
I have been in search of a new YA dystopian novel, as it’s a genre I do love reading. I am so glad that I read this amazing novel by Kristin Cast. It’s compared to novels like The Handmaids Tale and Vox, both equally amazing dystopias.
The Key governs the world, they tell their citizens that they must not touch. Intimacy between people is absolutely forbidden. This is due to a pandemic that wiped out Billions of people, and The Key blames humans for this and seeks to control all in a bid to stop another deadly pandemic. They don’t stop at making touching illegal, they have banned books and expect people to live their lives through VR, hardly meeting with actual people in real life.
Elodie the main character takes The Keys rules seriously and trusts their advice. However, in walks Aiden, a boy that makes Elodie think and ask questions, he makes her wonder if life can be lived another way, and whether the all-knowing The Key is actually the protector, or the captor playing with their lives, playing at being God.
I would recommend to anyone who loves YA dystopia.
theresa h, Educator
The Key To Fear
by Kristin Cast
I listened to the audio version of the imprint by Blackstone Audiobooks, Narrated by Dascha Polanco. Dascha has the right voice for this young adult book. She encapsulates the nature of the characters Elodie, and Aiden with her young voice and range. The book is intriguing as an audio book.
It is not a large stretch that Kristin Cast was able to bring forward another great apocalyptic series. She is part of the author powerhouse for the House of Night series, written with her mother P.C. Cast. The Key to Fear is as different as you can get from her mother’s series. The idea of disease causing people to adopt rules that restrict personal connections is not as far fetched in our current political world. Her use of the idea of computer aided monitoring, and tracking is not as impossible as it would have been Pre-pandemic. The book like Asimov gives the reader a moment to think about when we allow politics to influence social, technological and legal aspects of life. I found the characters excellent, and the problems and conditions of their life endearing. I hope to continue reading this series as the next book comes out.
Lilian C, Librarian
This book was excellent! It is a great fun listen during this pandemic! I adore Dasha Polanco so I was very happy to hear her narrate her. The story of Elodie and Aidan was very good! This is a diverse book with a few words in Spanish. I hope everyone reads or listens to this title!
Toya S, Reviewer
There’s nothing more timely than reading a post-apocalyptic book that’s the result of a pandemic in 2020.
No touching today for a healthy tomorrow.
After a pandemic decimates most of the population, those who remain live by this mantra. Physical contact of any kind has been outlawed. Babies are now conceived by science. The ruling government, which is referred to as the Key, chooses your career and love interest (amongst other things). The freedoms that once seemed obvious have ceased to exist.
The story starts off as a bit of a slow burn as the author does a spectacular job of immersing you into this eerie and desolate environment that makes 2020 seem like child’s play. The intricate set up of the Key and how it controls its citizens was equal parts fascinating and frightening.
This book is told from multiple POVs, but Elodie and Aidan were by far my favorites. Elodie is wicked smart and lives and breathes the rules that have been set forth by the Key. Well, that is until she meets Aidan who is pretty set on doing the exact opposite. I really enjoyed the chemistry between Elodie and Aidan and watching them work together to take on the Key.
Overall, if you love a good character driven dystopian novel filled with lush world building, action, and a government that you can’t trust, this one will definitely be for you.
Thank you to MTMC for the tour invite. Thank you to Blackstone Audio for providing a review copy through NetGalley.
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