gather the weeds

A Dystopian Novel in the Footsteps Of Margaret Atwood's The Handmaiden's Tale, Stephen King's The Long Walk, And George Orwell's 1984.

Michael Poole, a seventeen-year-old deaf ward of the Gate, wants a few things. A girlfriend. A chance to play hockey. Good times. But the blockheads, and the Watchers have other plans for him. Like not leaving the Gate. Not causing trouble. And to remain still and calmly wait for the day of his own taking...

The story explores a malevolent place. In Michael Poole's streams of consciousness, memories,

and dreams. In pidgin Sign Exact English and in American Sign Language. In Spanglish and in Spanish. In riddles and drawings. Only to discover the final policy for the wards in the Gate Institute unwelcomed by the general population of a perfect world.