Running Toward Freedom: A Glimpse Inside PALIMPSEST
There’s a moment in every good YA dystopian novel when everything tightens — the breath, the pacing, the decision. Freedom is suddenly within reach, but so is danger. And between the two stands choice.
In PALIMPSEST, that moment arrives in a rush of dust, fear and thundering footsteps.
Geha runs — not for sport, not for thrill, but for survival.
For autonomy.
For the right to choose her world.
Behind her, Ranous closes the gap. Ahead, the future cracks open like a fault line she isn’t ready to face. The excerpt below captures that split second where trust, hope, and betrayal stand shoulder to shoulder.
Excerpt from PALIMPSEST
She was startled to see that Ranous was way out in front, and a small sob erupted from her as she wasn’t sure whether he chased her to capture her or whether he intended to join her to leave the clan. She couldn’t be sure, so she accelerated across the dangerous boulder strewn terrain. She risked another look behind and noticed that Ranous had gained on her and Hedaf was not too far behind him. One of the elders had fallen over a boulder and had injured his ankle. The others had pulled up to help him and shouted encouragement to the two young men who now chased Geha.
Geha began to feel the pressure. The initial adrenaline surge was now over, and her breath came in ragged gasps, and her legs felt weak. Ranous started shouting at her, ‘Keep going Geha – don’t give up – I’m coming with you.’ Geha drew her breath in huge sobs and her body began breaking down. She spun around to turn back to Ranous.
He kept shouting, ‘No! No! Go on …Don’t stop … keep running.’
Geha stopped, not sure of what to do. All at once Hedaf realised that Ranous was not chasing Geha for capture, and he stopped and raised his spear. He threw it and it curved in a flawless arc snaking perfectly towards Ranous. Geha screamed when she realised what was happening, ‘Look out Ranous … there is a spear.’
Ranous jerked to one side, but the spear thudded into his thigh and hurled him to the ground. Geha screamed loudly, her hands shot to her mouth, and she started to run back towards Ranous, not caring for freedom if she could not share it with him.
Why this scene matters
This isn’t just a chase.
It’s a reckoning.
Readers of dystopian novels for teens will recognise the tension — loyalty against survival, love against fear, instinct against doubt. The ground beneath them is both literal and symbolic: unstable, jagged, unpredictable. Just like the world Geha is trying to escape.
The moment Hedaf raises the spear, the story fractures into two potential futures — one where freedom is possible, and one where grief becomes the scar she carries forward.
Teen dystopia isn’t dark for the sake of darkness.
Stories like PALIMPSEST give young readers a safe place to explore:
- betrayal and trust
• power and resistance
• moral conflict under pressure
• what it means to run — and what it means to turn back
Where children’s books teach courage gently, young adult dystopian fiction tests it.
Where picture books spark imagination, worlds like this demand it.
A book for readers who like worlds sharp enough to cut
If your teen loves YA dystopian series, post-apocalyptic teen fiction, or worlds where one wrong turn rewrites destiny — PALIMPSEST belongs on their shelf.
You can read more, explore background material, and find the full novel here:
And for younger readers in the family?
Two gentle stories also live in this world:
📘 Gregory the Greedy Duck — fun, light-hearted, perfect for early readers
📗 Gregory and the Bully — kindness, courage & social growth for children
Sometimes stories whisper.
Sometimes they run.
PALIMPSEST does both — and it doesn’t slow down.
- December 1, 2025
- 8:32 pm
