Sold in a heated US auction, this speculative YA standalone fuses the grounded future setting of Black Mirror and the lurking horror of generative AI, with an added twist of toxic wellness culture. A girl spends an explosive weekend at at a high-brow wellness retreat that is supposedly designed to bring families back together…but continues to break her own apart.

IMAGINE US PERFECT
by Jas Hammonds
Random House, Fall 2027
(via Writers House)

Photo Credit: Kay Ulanday Barrett

Fifteen-year-old Mel Cooke is bummed when her parents whisk the family away on an impromptu trip at the beginning of winter break. She’d planned on spending the vacation devising a plan to come out as queer to her family with the help of her best friend. But tension has been building in the Cooke family for months—especially between Mel and her older sister, Maya–and Mel’s parents are insistent that this getaway is necessary.

When the Cooke family arrives at the remote Figment Falls Wellness Center, Mel quickly realizes this is no ordinary vacation. Mel’s parents have signed up for an experimental therapy program designed to bring families closer. Everyone will get a chance to privately share how they wished their family members looked and acted against a backdrop of their perfect day. The scenarios will then be uploaded to a simulation for the entire family to experience together. But to ensure everyone has the opportunity to live their truth, only the person who constructed the day is free to speak and act as they wish—everyone else is beholden to the constructor, a bit like puppets, and must save their opinions until the day is over. As they work through the scenarios, the family is assigned a grade to reflect how “healed” they’re becoming, with the ultimate goal being a perfect 100%.

Mel’s earlier apprehension is suddenly replaced with excitement. This could be the perfect opportunity to come out to her family and fix her fragile relationship with Maya. So, during her intake session, Mel constructs a day where she comes out as queer and her family accepts her. She even starts to see Figment Falls as the magical place it promises to be—undoubtedly influenced by Audrey, a cute girl who is also undergoing therapy and is constantly singing Figment Falls’ praises. Mel becomes obsessed with making sure her family comes out as a shining example of an “A+” family.

But as the days unfold and everyone’s expectations and dreams are revealed, Mel realizes everyone in her family wants her to be someone she’s not. Buried secrets are dragged to the surface as the line between Mel’s real life and the simulations becomes increasingly blurred. When Mel’s parents reveal their time at Figment Falls is their last-ditch effort before divorce, Mel must decide if fixing her family is worth shrinking herself—or if the illusion of perfection is good enough.

Praise for Jas Hammonds:
Coretta Scott King John Steptoe Award for New Talent Winner
People Magazine Best Book of the Year
Kirkus Best Book of the Year
School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
Reader’s Digest Best Book of the Year
A Goodreads Choice Awards Nominee
A Junior Library Guild Selection
An ALA Rainbow Book List Pick
A YALSA Top 10 Fiction Book

Jas Hammonds (they/them) was raised in many cities and between the pages of many books. They have received support for their writing from Art Omi, Baldwin for the Arts, Boyds Mills and more. They are also a Lambda Literary Fellow and a MacDowell James Baldwin Fellow. Their bestselling debut novel, We Deserve Monuments, won the Coretta Scott King – John Steptoe Award for New Talent. Their second novel, Thirsty, was a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection. They live in New Jersey.