"A wonderful retelling of the Pinocchio story…I simply couldn’t put this book down."
Rysa Walker, bestselling author of TIMEBOUND
Rysa Walker, bestselling author of TIMEBOUND
Written by David Estes
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Sometimes the strings that tie us down are the same strings that set us free.
Sixteen-year-old Pia has always lived in a mysterious facility where mechanical strings control her existence. She plays apprentice to her father, Gio, in performing nanotech designs for the Company, and she soon suspects there are diabolical human forces behind the manufactured reality of her world.
Though her childhood memories and the origins of the strings remain strangely elusive, she begins to find solace with the introduction of two unlikely friends: daring, irrational Sofia, and calm, tender Marco.
As the truths of the past and present unravel together, Pia must find a way to free herself from her strings and escape the facility before facing the wrath of the unstable head of security, Mr. Davis. But to gain her freedom, she must navigate the dangers posed by Davis and by her suspicious new friends to find the real identity of the puppeteer.
If Pia can succeed in revealing the secrets of the Company, she may very well find the independence she so desperately seeks. But in her controlled world nothing is as it seems, and the closer she gets to the truth, the graver the consequences.
EXCREPT
I am not a picture. You can’t frame me and fasten me to the wall and stare at me. You can’t just turn me around when you don’t want to look at me. I’m not a thing. I’m not. Right?
Right?
Is anyone listening to me?
The harshest lies are the ones we tell ourselves.
The truth is, I am a doll. When I’m not being used they stick me on a shelf to gather dust. They take me down to play with me, pulling my arms and legs in ways they’re not meant to go. Ways I don’t want them to go. My actions are not my own. My life belongs to those who control my strings. I am a doll with a stitched mouth, melancholy but exhausted beyond true sadness. Sometimes I feel like even less; like I’m not a real girl. Like I’m more like Fig than I thought, someone’s creation. Used, tired of, and eventually thrown out. What is real? Am I real if my body is not my own? Am I real if I have no right to choose my own destiny?
No.
The answer is no.
I’m just somebody’s thing, a marionette dancing on strings so strong they might as well be steel cables. We’re both puppets in a street show, my father and I.Giveaway
About the author
David Estes is the author of more than 20 science fiction and fantasy novels that have received hundreds of thousands of downloads worldwide, including The Moon Dwellers, Fire Country, Slip, Brew, and his new SciFi Pinocchio retelling, Strings. He lives in Hawaii with his inspiring Aussie wife, Adele, rambunctious son, Beau, and naughty cat, Bailey. When he's not writing, you'll likely find him at the beach swimming, snorkeling, or reading under an umbrella.
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