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Chapters (86)
  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright
  3. Dedication
  4. Acknowledgments
  5. Chapter One
  6. Chapter Two
  7. Chapter Three
  8. Chapter Four
  9. Chapter Five
  10. Chapter Six
  11. Chapter Seven
  12. Chapter Eight
  13. Chapter Nine
  14. Chapter Ten
  15. Chapter Eleven
  16. Chapter Twelve
  17. Chapter Thirteen
  18. Chapter Fourteen
  19. Chapter Fifteen
  20. Chapter Sixteen
  21. Chapter Seventeen
  22. Chapter Eighteen
  23. Chapter Nineteen
  24. Chapter Twenty
  25. Chapter Twenty-one
  26. Chapter Twenty-two
  27. Chapter Twenty-three
  28. Chapter Twenty-four
  29. Chapter Twenty-five
  30. Chapter Twenty-six
  31. Chapter Twenty-seven
  32. Chapter Twenty-eight
  33. Chapter Twenty-nine
  34. Chapter Thirty
  35. Chapter Thirty-one
  36. Chapter Thirty-two
  37. Chapter Thirty-three
  38. Chapter Thirty-four
  39. Chapter Thirty-five
  40. Chapter Thirty-six
  41. Chapter Thirty-seven
  42. Chapter Thirty-eight
  43. Chapter Thirty-nine
  44. Chapter Forty
  45. Chapter Forty-one
  46. Chapter Forty-two
  47. Chapter Forty-three
  48. Chapter Forty-four
  49. Chapter Forty-five
  50. Chapter Forty-six
  51. Chapter Forty-seven
  52. Chapter Forty-eight
  53. Chapter Forty-nine
  54. Chapter Fifty
  55. Chapter Fifty-one
  56. Chapter Fifty-two
  57. Chapter Fifty-three
  58. Chapter Fifty-four
  59. Chapter Fifty-five
  60. Chapter Fifty-six
  61. Chapter Fifty-seven
  62. Chapter Fifty-eight
  63. Chapter Fifty-nine
  64. Chapter Sixty
  65. Chapter Sixty-one
  66. Chapter Sixty-two
  67. Chapter Sixty-three
  68. Chapter Sixty-four
  69. Chapter Sixty-five
  70. Chapter Sixty-six
  71. Chapter Sixty-seven
  72. Chapter Sixty-eight
  73. Chapter Sixty-nine
  74. Chapter Seventy
  75. Chapter Seventy-one
  76. Chapter Seventy-two
  77. Chapter Seventy-three
  78. Chapter Seventy-four
  79. Chapter Seventy-five
  80. Chapter Seventy-six
  81. Chapter Seventy-seven
  82. Chapter Seventy-eight
  83. Chapter Seventy-nine
  84. Chapter Eighty
  85. Readers Guide
  86. About the Author

To my US editor, Cindy Hwang at Berkley; my UK editor, Charlotte Mursell at HQ HarperCollins; and the entire teams at both publishers for their fierce enthusiasm.

To my early readers, Stephanie Hutton and Caleb Echterling, for speed-reading a novel written in two months and helping to make it shine.

To Joanne Merriam at Upper Rubber Boot Books. Without her original call for submissions to the Broad Knowledge: 35 Women Up to No Good anthology, Dr. Jean McClellan’s tale might never have happened.

To Ellen Bryson, Kayla Pongrac, and Sophie van Llewyn, who critiqued the short story with keen eyes and told me to keep going.

To the amazingly supportive crowd of flash fiction writers and editors who have sung out my short work over the years. Y’all know who you are.

To you, dear reader, who will ultimately judge this story. I do hope you enjoy it. Most of all, I hope it makes you a little bit angry. I hope it makes you think.

And finally, to my husband, Bruce, who supports almost everything I do. And who never, ever tells me not to talk so much.

Chapter One

ONE

If anyone told me I could bring down the president, and the Pure Movement, and that incompetent little shit Morgan LeBron in a week’s time, I wouldn’t believe them. But I wouldn’t argue. I wouldn’t say a thing.

I’ve become a woman of few words.

Tonight at supper, before I speak my final syllables of the day, Patrick reaches over and taps the silver-toned device around my left wrist. It’s a light touch, as if he were sharing the pain, or perhaps reminding me to stay quiet until the counter resets itself at midnight. This magic will happen while I sleep, and I’ll begin Tuesday with a virgin slate. My daughter, Sonia’s, counter will do the same.

My boys do not wear word counters.

Over dinner, they are all engaged in the usual chatter about school.

Sonia also attends school, although she never wastes words discussing her days. At supper, between bites of a simple stew I made from memory, Patrick questions her about her progress in home economics, physical fitness, and a new course titled Simple Accounting for Households. Is she obeying the teachers? Will she earn high marks this term? He knows exactly the type of questions to ask: closed-ended, requiring only a nod or a shake of the head.