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AudioBook information:
Author: Kate Maupin
Narrated by: Ellen Adair
Release date: October 27, 2026
Audiobook Duration: 10 h 59 min
Summary:Â A single mom and her neurodivergent son battle for survival and stability in a post-apocalyptic world, one that is arguably no less harsh to them then the pre-pandemic one, in this gripping, one-of-a-kind debut.
Ever since Mayâs husband decided parenthood wasnât for him and left, itâs just been May and her autistic son with high support needs, Davis, against the world. A rather unwelcoming one that never had much patience or understanding.
Then 99.9% of the population was wiped out by a virus in just a few weeks, and that world ended. May has kept herself and Davis alive only through the self-imposed isolation she got so good at in the Before. They have their routines, their cozy nest in an abandoned library, and most importantly, the old battery-powered Game Boy that offers Davis familiarity and comfort in a world thatâs difficult to understand.
One day May runs into a stranger while out scavenging for the precious batteries that keep Davis’s Game Boy alive. This stranger calls himself Bird, he has intelâand a proposition. Supposedly thereâs an entire haven of survivors nearby. Bird wants in, and he needs May and Davis to play along as wife and child in order to guarantee himself a spot. Besides, wouldnât May want to be part of a community again?
Not particularlyâbut the survivors have batteries. So she reluctantly agrees. And while May knows better than to trust the man who ripped her and Davis out of their routines, she canât help but open up to him. But when Birdâs true motivations come to light, her old life collides with the new in terrifyingly dark ways, forcing May to question how far she would go to protect her son. How long can she and Davis last until the batteries run out?
Reviews:
âThis is an emotional, tense, psychological tale of peopleâs perceptions about disabled children, and a mother trying to keep her son safe while also drowning in the weight of it. Itâs especially notable for its searing exploration of the eugenicist core of a âsurvival of the fittestâ mentality.ââBooklist
â[A] grim postapocalyptic novel following a mother accustomed to making tough choices to protect her son . . . Maupin doesnât sugarcoat the gory fallout of the virus or the everyday demands of holding the world together as a single parent of a high-needs child, making for an emotionally challenging but grounded and satisfying trek. . . . Itâs an impressive start.ââPublishers Weekly
âFans of The Last of Us will find much to like in this tale of dystopian deprivation, in which a woman named May and her 10-year-old child, Davis, who has high support needs, are hunkered down in a Connecticut library. . . . Maupin shows the deep bond a mother has to create in parenting a neurodiverse child, as well as how far that mother has to go to both protect and nurture the child. Davis may have limited verbal ability, but heâs fully human, capable of connection, and eminently worth saving. . . . [An] affecting take on how relationships and communities might be tested in the wake of disaster.ââKirkus Reviews
About the Author:
Kate Maupin is an award-winning author, educator, foster child advocate, and reformed Super Mom. She is a genre-hopping writer with work originating in academic nonfiction, but excited to make her fiction debut. She is a national speaker on education and parenting topics, and is a retiree of the executive board of the Connecticut Association for the Gifted. Her work with populations of high needs children, as well as her own journey in special needs parenting, brought her to the realization that all parents can benefit from an antibody to âsuper parenting.â Kate currently lives in the wilds of Connecticut with her husband, two sons, and a truly outrageous number of pets.