Central Kansas Library System

"The first novel written for an adult audience by the mega-selling author of the Divergent franchise: five twenty-something heroes famous for saving the world when they were teenagers must face even greater demons-and reconsider what it means to be a hero . . . by destiny or by choice"-- Fifteen years ago, five ordinary teenagers were singled out by a prophecy to take down an impossibly powerful entity wreaking havoc across North America. He was...

Feeling awkward and ugly is one of several reasons sixteen-year-old Kevin is uncomfortable with the publicity about his act of accidental heroism, but when a reporter photographs him apparently being unpatriotic, he speaks out and encourages people to think about what the symbols of freedom really mean.

Roland and his band have narrowly escaped the city of Lud and boarded Blaine, a train that will take them to, of all places, Kansas, where the ghost city of Topeka has been depopulated by a superflu and where, alongside Interstate 70, an emerald palace rises enchantingly. Before Roland and the companions of his ka-tet continue along the Path of the Bean, Roland must tell his companions the tale that defines him both as a man and hero, a long-ago romance...