The Ooze
CBC Books | | Posted: March 1, 2022 1:11 AM | Last Updated: March 1, 2022
Tash McAdam
Bran's taking the recycling down to the basement when the lights go out and the elevator stalls.
Bran's phone's dead, he can hear screaming, but he can't get out. Eventually, he manages to pry the doors open to find that something's very wrong. His own mother can't remember his name, there is this black slime dripping out of her ear and then she kills their cat. Bran runs. Outside, Vancouver is teeming with people acting strangely, and they all have the same black slime in their ears. What is going on and how can Bran stop it? (From Orca Books)
Tash McAdam is a Welsh-Canadian author, activist and high school educator. Their publications include The Psionics, and the Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selections Blood Sport and Sink or Swim. They are also featured in multiple anthologies. Tash is a recipient of the Shoot for the Moon fund for trans writers, and a founding mentor with the Gender Generations Project.
From the book
Bran jabs the elevator button with his elbow and waits for the doors to close. The empty recycling tubs are lighter now. They're still big, though, and he has to use both hands to hold them. The doors slide closed. Bran leans his head against the back wall. It's been a long day already. His mom got on him about his room as soon as he got home from school. Cleaning it it up took ages. Then he still had to do his regular chores. He hasn't even started the English homework that's due tomorrow. Somehow he has to write a book report on a book he hasn't read. Bran taps his head against the wall.
Thunk.
From The Ooze by Tash McAdam ©2022. Published by Orca Books.