Title: Malice
Author: Pintip Dunn
Genre: YA, Sci-fi, Thriller
Release Date: February 04, 2020
Summary:
What I know: a boy at my school will one day wipe out two-thirds of the population with a virus.
What I don’t know: who he is.
In a race against the clock, I not only have to figure out his identity, but I’ll have to outwit a voice from the future telling me to kill him. Because I’m starting to realize no one is telling the truth. But how can I play chess with someone who already knows the outcome of my every move? Someone so filled with malice she’s lost all hope in humanity? Well, I’ll just have to find a way―because now she’s drawn a target on the only boy I’ve ever loved…
Malice Excerpt:
Before I know it, I’m a foot away from the basketball court. The players are taking a break, and Bandit stands at the edge of the concrete, taking long pulls from a water bottle. Up close, his brilliant hair looks almost purple, and his T-shirt sticks to his back in sweaty patches, hinting at his solid muscles.
Now what? Do I clear my throat? Tap his shoulder? Going for broke, I do both at the same time.
He turns and lifts his eyebrows, as though wondering how a mere mortal such as myself dares to approach him. He’s tall—really tall. Almost a head above my five feet five. His jaw is chiseled, his shoulders broad. I’m so close that I can feel the heat rising off his body.
My brain scrambles. I forgot to check if I had any food in my teeth! Did I brush my hair this morning? Put on clothes?
Okay, so clearly I’m not naked, but for the life of me, I can’t remember what I’m wearing. Please don’t let it be the navy T-shirt with the faded splotches on the shoulder, from when I accidentally added bleach instead of detergent to the laundry.
I glance down. Jeans and a white tank top—my favorite shirt because it has Lin-Manuel Miranda’s autograph. More than passable.
“I, uh…” My entire vocabulary chooses that moment to flee.
His lids lower, and he looks at me, decidedly bored. “Yes? Can I help you?”
Three, four, five of his basketball friends angle their towering bodies toward us, probably wondering what the interruption is about.
Sweat gathers at the nape of my neck, and electricity hums along my skin. The Voice is about to zap me again. I just know it.
“Running out of time,” the Voice pipes up, as if on cue. “Tell him.”
Say the words and be done with it. Say the words. Say. The. Words.
“I love you,” I blurt. “That is all. Goodbye.”
I wheel around, ready to sprint, when a hand snags my arm. His hand.
“Wait a minute,” Bandit says, his eyes 2 percent less bored. “Are we in third grade? Do you want to give me a note asking if I love you back, so I can circle yes or no?”
My cheeks burn hotter than the sun assaulting my skin. Hotter, even, than the flames that got me into this mess.
I could really use that alien abduction right about now.
The object of my supposed affection smirks. “We can skip the note. Can’t say I blame you for falling for me. I mean, I’m a lovable guy. But have we actually met?” He lowers his voice. “Outside of your wildest dreams, that is.”
About Pintip Dunn:
Pintip Dunn is a New York Times bestselling author of young adult fiction. She graduated from Harvard University, magna cum laude, with an A.B., and received her J.D. at Yale Law School.
Pintip’s novel FORGET TOMORROW won the 2016 RWA RITA® for Best First Book, and SEIZE TODAY won the 2018 RITA for Best Young Adult Romance. In addition, her books have been translated into four languages, and they have been nominated for the following awards: the Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire; the Japanese Sakura Medal; the MASL Truman Award; the Tome Society It list; the Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award; and a Kirkus Reviews Best Indie Book of the Year. Her other novels include REMEMBER YESTERDAY, THE DARKEST LIE, GIRL ON THE VERGE, STAR-CROSSED, and MALICE.
Connect with Pintip Dunn:
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