GENRE: dystopia, but otherwise realistic fiction THEMES: romance, relationships, lgbt, polyamory, oppression, fighting, discovery, lost and found LENGTH: 25 chapters WARNINGS: swearing, smoking, suicide, sex INSPIRATION: the chemical garden trilogy by lauren distefano (fever / wither / sever); also pretty much every other dystopia i’ve ever read CHARACTERS:  ABER -- eighteen years old, newly married, and now suddenly at “home” in a house on the beach with his wife, his wife’s mother, and his wife’s two other husbands.  it all revolves around his wife, doesn’t it. NUA -- ava’s third husband, and seemingly her least favorite.  always has his nose in a book and his ears open, unsure of if he’s safe tucked away here, or just dangling from a rope about to snap. KEOL -- ava’s favorite husband, though not her first; and despite her attention, his place in this house isn’t safe.  hates his wife’s cigarettes and her mother, and aber, up until aber needs his help to find his twin sister.   AVA -- unfortunately, aber’s new wife.  nua and keol’s wife, too.  addicted to cigarettes, keol, and annoying her mother.  why would she smoke like that in the first place, if her lungs are sick? BAYAN -- servant or slave?  doesn’t matter.  he’s got ava on his side, and that’s how you survive in this house. LILLY -- ava’s mother, and the real villain.  we knew that from the start, though. ABIGALA -- aber’s twin sister, lost in the wind thanks to lilly.  just like aber, but also...not.   and finally,  SHIV -- ava’s orange cat.