The Great and The Small
A.T. Balsara
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Common Deer Press
Date of Publication: October 31, 2017
ASIN: B07543NL6H
Number of pages: 292 pages
Cover Artist: Ellie Sipila of Move tothe Write
About the Book:
Deep below the market, in the dark tunnels no human knows exist, a war has begun. Lead by the charismatic Beloved Chairman, a colony of rats plots to exterminate the ugly two-legs who have tortured them in labs, crushed them with boots, and looked at them with disgust for as long as anyone can remember.
When the Chairman’s nephew is injured and a young two-leg nurses him back to health, however, doubt about the war creeps in. Now the colony is split—obey the Chairman and infect the two-legs with the ancient sickness passed down from the Old Ones, or do the unthinkable...
Rebel.
Purchase Links:
Read an Excerpt
from The Great and the Small: The
Market
A
loud crash boomed from the fish stalls, making them both jump.
A
huge man wearing rubber boots and a plastic apron came charging down the aisle.
“You filthy piece of… I’m gonna get you!” He was focused on something on the
ground and didn’t seem to notice that he was charging straight at them.
Ananda’s
father braced himself, toothpick though he was, in front of her. But the
fishmonger barrelled past, following a streak of white and grey. A mouse! The
man raised his boot, slammed it down on the mouse.
Ananda
gasped. So did others in the crowd. The mouse squirmed in pain, its back paw
crushed. A dark splotch of blood bloomed on the pavement.
The
man lifted his boot again.
Everything
seemed to slow down for Ananda. “Stop!” she roared. She pushed by her dad and
jumped between the man and the mouse. Blood pounded in her ears and her heart
thrummed. She held up her hands to block him and shouted, “Leave it the Hell
alone!”
The
man stumbled backward, tripping over his own enormous boot. He pulled himself
up to his full height and glowered down at her. His face was as red as boiled
lobster, and a sheen of sweat glistened on his fat upper lip and quivering
jowls. He sneered.
“What’s
your problem, you stupid kid?” he snarled.
Ananda
was too pumped with adrenaline to be cowed by this mastodon. She rose to her
full five-foot-one-inch height and glared up at the giant. “I’m not the
troublemaker here, you bloody, murderous jerk! What gives you the right to hurt
an innocent animal?”
“Are
you crazy?” the guy sputtered.
Ananda
wanted to sink her fist into his fat ham of a face. “No, you’re crazy! Torturing an innocent mouse who hasn’t done you any
harm—ouch!” She was suddenly yanked to one side.
Her
skinny father, with his thick glasses and mop of dark brown hair, stepped
forward, putting himself between her and the fish-selling Goliath. Tom pushed
his glasses up his nose. “Let’s all just calm down…”
Giant
Fish-Guy began ranting, waving his meaty hands, drops of sweat flying off him
like a dog shaking itself after a dip in the pond. Tom’s voice began to rise.
Leaving
her dad to it, Ananda swooped around and crouched on the ground before the
mouse. It was white with grey markings. It looked like it had a little cape. It
was still moving, its long, pink tail flickering like a groggy snake.
“Come
on, little guy,” whispered Ananda. “You’ve got to get up now.”
The
small creature seemed to know it had been given a reprieve. It picked itself
up, slowly peeled its crushed
back paw from the pavement, gave itself a small shake, and lolloped
away, holding its crushed paw to its belly. It made it past the gargoyle
statue. It had just leaped onto the column when Fish-Guy caught sight of it. He
swore and lumbered after it.
“Leave
it alone!” screamed Ananda. She went to run
after him but was stopped by an iron grip on her arm. “Stop him, somebody!” she
shrieked.
By
now, the entire market had stopped to gawk. The mouse was halfway up the
column. Cursing, Fish-Guy hopped on one foot and ripped off a boot. He threw
it. The boot bounced off the column.
The
mouse kept climbing.
Fish-Guy
threw the other boot. Missed!
Ananda
cheered as the mouse slid over the rooftop. “Yes! The mouse got away!” She
jumped up and down, clapping, and swung around. Dozens of people were staring,
jaws flapped open. She froze. In the crowd she saw one of the guys from her
school. He looked like Ed the Hyena from The
Lion King. His
mouth was in perma-sneer mode, and his head thrust forward on his neck like
someone was leading him by his pimply nostrils. He shook his head at her.
“Loser,” he mouthed, and laughed. She’d seen his type a million times. A coward
until he smelled blood. There was no way he was going to bully her.
Although
prickling sweat had broken out all over her body, Ananda thrust out her chin.
She smiled—a bright, fake mask. “Good!” she called to the crowd. “The mouse is
safe. All’s well that ends well, right?” She curled her mouth into a sarcastic grin and stared down the hyena.
Socialize with the Author Online:
Socialize with the Author Online:
Website: http://www.torreybalsara.com/
Thanks so much for hosting The Great and the Small by A.T. Balsara!
ReplyDeleteJenn
Common Deer Press
You're welcome! It's my pleasure to feature the book here today.
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