Monochrome - 9780349003900

'A compelling dystopian tale set in a chillingly realistic future' Katherine Webber, YA Prize-shortlisted author of Wing Jones and Only Love Can Break Your Heart

'A captivating, complex plot, a fascinating teen protagonist and a way to see the world through different eyes... literally!' Mark Ballabon, environmentalist and author of Home


In a world drained of colour, nothing is black and white . . .

Early one morning, Grace wakes to find herself staring at an ashen sunrise in ominous grey skies. It's like watching a disaster movie, though her family don't seem to think anything is wrong. Grace is one of a handful of people in the country who are seeing the world in shades of grey. But this is only the beginning of the 'greyout', or Monochrome Effect, that is rapidly sweeping the world.

Loss of colour vision is traced to polluted water systems; microplastics covered in harmful bacteria have been poured into the ocean for years. With failing harvests and stay-at-home orders in a world on the brink of a major ecological disaster, there appears to be no cure - until one day Grace sees a single flash of red.

She agrees to join a government-run study with other teenagers who experience intermittent 'colour episodes'. They are promised that they are the key to reversing the damage, but Grace soon realises that the reality is much more complicated, shocking, and dangerous than she could have ever imagined . . .