

The Lesson
“An excellent read. It explores the history of the Caribbean Islands in the context of European colonization, along with current events in which communities of color are confronted with overwhelming forces that deal out harsh punishments. It’s a thought-provoking and interesting story, one that I’m still thinking about.”
The Verge
A Publishers Weekly Pick of Top 10 Books for Spring 2019 in Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror
A Verge Pick of 11 New Science Fiction & Fantasy Books
A GamersNewsClub.com Pick of Most Anticipated Science Fiction and Fantasy Books
A ConquerBooks.com Pick
An SFBook.com Pick of Most Anticipated Books of 2019
A Barnes & Noble Pick of Top 25 SSF Debuts That Will Transform Your 2019
A BlackGirlNerds.com Pick of New Books
A Kirkus Reviews Pick of Most Anticipated Summer Reads
An Amazon Best Book of the Month for June 2019
A Georgia Independent Bookstores' Pick of New Releases
An Ars Technica Pick of Most Anticipated Books of 2019
A BookBub Editors' Pick of Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Books of the Summer
A Bookish Pick of 10 Out-of-This-World Sci Fi & Fantasy Reads for Summer
An Audible Editors Top Pick
A Bookish Pick of Best Book Cover Designs of the Month in Science Fiction & Fantasy
A Hollywood Reporter Pick of Hot Summer Books
A Library Journal Best Book of 2019 in Science Fiction & Fantasy
An iBooks bestseller in Science Fiction & Fantasy
Nominated for a 2019 Voice Arts Award
A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2019 in Science Fiction
A 2019 Kirkus Reviews Best Books of the Year in Science Fiction & Fantasy
A Chicago Review of Books Pick of Best Small Press Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Speculative Fiction Books
A Polygon Pick of Best SSF Books of 2019
A Barnes & Noble Best Book of the Year
A 2019 Locus Recommendation
A 2020 Audie Award Finalist for Best Science Fiction Narration
2019 AAMBC Literary Award nominee
Shortlisted for the VCU Cabell First Novelist Award
Longlisted for the Massachusetts Book Award
A BuzzFeed Books Pick of 20 Books to Read If You Want to Get into Black Sci-Fi and Fantasy
Winner of the 2020 Neukom Institute Literary Arts Award
Oprah Magazine Pick of 16 Books to Read to Celebrate Caribbean American Heritage
A BookRiot Pick of 10 Alien Books
An alien ship rests over Water Island. For five years the people of the US Virgin Islands have lived with the Ynaa, a race of superadvanced aliens on a research mission they will not fully disclose. They are benevolent in many ways but meet any act of aggression with disproportional wrath. This has led to a strained relationship between the Ynaa and the local Virgin Islanders and a peace that cannot last.
A year after the death of a young boy at the hands of an Ynaa, three families find themselves at the center of the inevitable conflict, witnesses and victims to events that will touch everyone and teach a terrible lesson.
Praise
