Oasis

In the near future, a virus will drive humankind to the brink of extinction. With the illness spreading faster than our attempts to control it, and society collapsing, the last surviving city will become a beacon of hope for survivors. Walled off from the outside world, a last bastion of civilised society, this city is christened Oasis. But as the city's government begins to impose a policy of safety at all costs, life for its citizens takes on a new and sinister shape. Born into this world is Quincy Emerson, a child of the Pure, a resident of the Celian City. At seven, she undergoes her genetic test, a rite of passage for all Oasis's young. The test uncovers the presence of a genetic marker associated with potential carriers of the Virus. She is separated from her family and transferred to the Outer Sector Dorms, brutal institutions built to house the youngest members of Oasis's underclass. Here, her life becomes a monotonous cycle of physical abuse, regimentation and exhausting labour at one of the Outer Sector's many power plants. By night she gazes at the crystalline towers of the Celian city and longs for the Cure. Beyond the walls of Oasis, however, something is stirring, and events are about to overtake Quincy. Her fate, it turns out, may not be written in her genes ... 'This futuristic sci-fi echoes Margaret Atwood and yet was written by a 16-year-old from Galway. Expect great things from this young, brilliant writer,' Image 'A high-paced page-turner that holds its own against any of the big names working in the YA Genre ... Eilís is an intellectual powerhouse', Irish Mail on Sunday 'An assured dystopian debut. On the promise of this page-turning debut, the sequel will be worth waiting for', Sunday Business Post 'Extraordinarily engaging ... Eilís is dazzlingly bright and articulate', Irish Examiner 'Our newest literary star', Irish Independent