In conversation with Brigid Kemmerer, moderated by Rachel Kempster Barry
About the author
Caroline Tung Richmond is an award-winning young adult author whose novels include The Great Destroyers, The Only Thing to Fear, Live In Infamy, and The Darkest Hour. She is also the co-editor of the Hungry Hearts anthology and the co-author of Great or Nothing, a retelling of Little Women set during WWII. Caroline lives in Maryland with her family.
MFOB featured book: The Great Destroyers
Jo Linden was born into a world where wars are won with giant mechanical soldiers and the nuclear bomb was never invented. Yet the Cold War still rages, and international rivalries between democracy and communism are now fought at the Pax Games, an Olympic-style competition that pits young pilots of mechas against each other. The USSR has beaten the US in nearly every game since its inception, and in the 1963 Games, the US is desperate for a win.
Raised in her father’s mecha repair shop, Jo knows more than anyone about piloting. She’s also the most unlikely pick for Team USA since she’s a virtually unknown fighter. So when she’s invited at the last minute to compete, she jumps at it. This could be the only chance to save her family’s home from debt collectors. But as fighters start dying in the arena, it’s suddenly clear that it’s more than the usual Pax Games, and Jo finds herself drawn into a deadly political plot. And if she can’t figure out the truth, it might mean the annihilation of everything.
