Jess Lourey’s Letter to Librarians

In THE VERDANT CAGE, Jess Lourey writes a chilling dystopian thriller about what it takes to rebel when you discover your entire world is a lie. In her letter to librarians, she shares that having access to libraries in her childhood helped her to imagine a better life for herself, and even led to her career as a writer today.

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Dear Librarian:

I grew up in a scary home in a scary small town (the first season of the “In the Dark” podcast covers Paynesville pretty well). The one consistent bright spot was the monthly drive to the city an hour away, where my family would stock up on groceries and library books. Every one of those stories I was allowed to borrow was a reminder that I wasn’t alone, a promise that there was a better life out there. If it weren’t for libraries, I don’t think I’d be a functioning adult today, let alone a writer. But thanks to the access to all those books, I was able to imagine a better life for myself and then make it happen. I know I’m not alone. Every writer I’ve met has a story about how libraries have influenced them, and on my 40-stop library tour last year, I had a front row seat to how impactful libraries are to their communities.

And now, libraries—along with so much of our society’s connective tissue—are under attack (again). It was this landscape of authoritarianism, extreme wealth disparity, and relentless rage baiting that inspired me to write THE VERDANT CAGE, the first in a trilogy. On the surface, it’s a dystopic thriller, its adrenaline-fueled plot inspired by some of my favorites: THE HUNGER GAMES, PARABLE OF THE SOWER, DIVERGENT, CHILDREN OF BLOOD AND BONE, THE GRACE YEAR, THE MAZE RUNNER, AN EMBER IN THE ASHES. But beneath that page-turning plot is a story about the danger of letting your rights be slowly chipped away, the strength in diversity and community, and the life-saving power of found family.

In imagining Noah’s Valley, the walled community where all of THE VERDANT CAGE takes place, I was able to draw on my Master’s in Sociology as well as my semi-prepper upbringing (not to mention my childhood love of LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE) to create a society where there is no technology and no escape, only people working together to raise crops, sew clothes, process food, and take care of each other. It appears to be going well until Henrietta Allgood becomes the Valley’s first murder victim. Only her daughter Rose, a skilled 17-year-old Apothecary shaped by her mother’s teachings to stay small and to never draw attention to herself, seems interested in solving the crime. In her quest for justice, she uncovers Noah’s Valley’s horrifying true purpose but also her voice and her courage.

THE VERDANT CAGE is the best thing I’ve ever written, and I’m so very excited for it to get into readers’ hands. I hope it goes a little way toward repaying the debt I owe to stories—and libraries—for showing me the way out all those years ago.

Jess Lourey
Author of THE VERDANT CAGE