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Fifteen-year-old Emmeline Jefferson doesn’t have time away from the Demons. Not a minute to say goodbye to her family, not a moment to wonder “Why me?” Every second she’s not possessed is spent begging stranger after stranger for help. But no one believes a sporadic girl who claims Demons have spent more time in her body than she has. No one until she finds Dumaine.

Dumaine Chartres’s whole life fits in his accordion case, his friends are nonexistent, and this fascinating girl is telling him Demons exist.These things all make perfect sense. What he doesn’t understand is why humans have such outrageous issues with murder. Death isn’t wicked or pleasant. It’s natural. If he wasn’t supposed to kill anyone, they wouldn’t have died. Nobody even noticed the bodies he witnessed himself slaughter. The bodies driving him wonder if he’s actually human.

In return for a break from his internal demons, Dumaine offers Emmeline help, and she’s willing to receive it from anyone. Maybe this boy can finally be the ally she needs. Maybe chasing this girl’s Demons can explain why he’s so different from everyone else. Maybe this friendship can work.

With enough determination to perturb the Demons, Emmeline and Dumaine concoct a plan to unriddle their lives. The first step is to confront the Demon’s creator. But something else seems to have found the creator first.

HUMAN SPINES is the first in a series and told from the viewpoints of Emmeline, Dumaine, and their rambling but wise navigator, Hans. Through a diverse cast, it explores themes of learned distrust, fear of the unknown, and the battle against the evil inside us all.

Born in Nebraska eighteen years ago, I graduated high school just before turning fourteen and have spent my time since then traveling, reading, and writing. I identify as mixed race, being half African-American, a fourth Swedish, and a fourth Native American (Pawnee and Blackfoot).

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