Road Out of Winter

 

out now

MIRA Books/HarperCollins

“Gloriously well-written”—Ms. Magazine

 

Winner of the 2021 Philip K. Dick Award • 2020 The Rumpus Book Club selection • ⭐⭐ from Booklist, Library Journal

Wylodine comes from a world of paranoia and poverty—her family grows marijuana illegally, and life has always been a battle. Now she’s been left behind to tend the crop alone. Then spring doesn’t return for the second year in a row, bringing unprecedented, extreme winter.

With grow lights stashed in her truck and a pouch of precious seeds, she begins a journey to start over, away from Appalachian Ohio. But the icy roads and strangers hidden in the hills prove treacherous. After a harrowing encounter with a violent cult, Wil and her small group become a target for the cult’s leader. Because she has the most valuable skill in the climate chaos: She can make things grow. 

 
 

Praise for Road Out of Winter

 

⭐ “Stine blends a rural thriller and speculative realism into what could be called dystopian noir. The author’s vision is profoundly moving, as distressing as Daniel Woodrell’s Winter’s Bone but liable to inspire real-world action … Readers searching for a novel fueled by fierce intelligence and empathy will find here a celebration of humanity, and a warning against its loss.” —LIBRARY JOURNAL, STARRED REVIEW

⭐ “An excellent feminist dystopian novel of survival, desperation and, ultimately, hope … Sublimely written and with much for book clubs to discuss, this book is highly recommended for all collections.”—BOOKLIST, STARRED REVIEW

“This novel is richly imagined, deeply moving and unthinkably offers hope in a world that uncannily resembles ours currently in the thick of COVID-19 … A young woman from a greatly broken home meets a greatly broken world.”—MS. MAGAZINE

“Stine’s prose is crisp and atmospheric … Fans of climate fiction and found family stories will be entranced.” —PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

“A warning about who we become and who we want to be in an uncertain future. Beautifully written and essential." —JEFF VANDERMEER, NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF ANNIHILATION
 
“Stark, dark and strangely urgent, this is a book that grabs you on the first page and doesn't let go. Alison Stine is a master at the craft. She takes us on a wild ride inside a future that feels all too real, with characters we care about, and a story that we start wishing will never end." — RENE DENFELD, BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE CHILD FINDER AND THE BUTTERFLY GIRL
 
“Like The Road infused with feminist grit, Alison Stine's ROAD OUT OF WINTER focuses on the true seeds of hope during a climate apocalypse: the things that nurture both our bodies and our souls. A startling and intimate look at what happens when our planet turns against us." —MIKE CHEN, BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF HERE AND NOW AND THEN