How We Became Wicked

By: Alexander Yates

Narrated by: Lauren Ezzo

When an insect-borne plague begins to envelop the world, three sixteen-year-olds struggle to survive amongst the healthy “trues” and the infected “wickeds” in this gripping dystopian tale from the author of The Winter Place.

A plague, called Wickedness, is pulsing through the world; and in its wake, it’s dividing the population into thirds:

The WICKED: Already infected by the droves of Singers, the ultraviolet mosquito-like insects who carry the plague, the Wicked roam the world freely. They don’t want for much - only to maim and dismember you. But don’t worry: They always ask politely first.

The TRUE: The True live in contained, isolated communities. They’re the lucky ones; they found safety from the Singers. And while the threat of the Wicked may not be eliminated, for the True, the threat has certainly been contained....

The VEXED: The Vexed are the truly fortunate ones - they survived the sting of the Singers, leaving them immune. But they’re far from safe. The Vexed hold the key to a cure, and there are those who will do anything to get it.

In this brilliantly realized novel, three teens - Astrid, Hank, and Natalie - start to realize that the divisions of their world aren’t as clear as they seem, and are forced to question what being wicked truly means.

©2019 by Alexander Yates. (P)2019 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Original and Gripping

Very original storyline with wonderful narration. I would love to see this as a series!

Just wow!

This should be a series, just one book isn’t enough. Would make a great movie too. It was so enjoyable that I just couldn’t stop listening.
The narrator was wonderful and you could easily tell which character was speaking.

brilliant

that ending! i loved it.
a bit confusing at moments, but beautifully done.
recommended to anyone.

Surprisingly Gripping Storyline

Dystopian but not overdone, and it was not too scary - thank goodness! The book might do well with a sequel. This audio kept my attention and some parts had me on the edge of my seat. The narration was good so 4 stars overall for sure. 1 star missing because we never truly found out how everyone became wicked...only how it spread. Good Job.

Really original and interesting

Wow. Something NOT derivative! Started a little slow--had to slog through teenage breakup, but then you come to understand what this means in their world. The wicked were performed so well by Lauren Ezzo (had to give the performance 5 stars). Of course, they were written well too, never read anything quite like them! Well developed characters, and enough twists and turns (plus the very surprising ending) to keep you listening.

Mind-blowingly Good

This book is so enthralling you will barely be able to do anything else but listen to it. If this thing isn’t a movie in the next decade, I will be very disappointed.

Sci-fi, post-apocalyptic with a wicked new take on “zombies”. Excuse the pun.

So. Damn. Good.

Also, a note to the author - we really need a sequel!

A hidden gem

the narrator did an outstanding job with the voices for this one.
The story was unique I really enjoyed the way the wicked worked, constantly kept you wondering.
could have done with some more world building around the town and the scale and design of it all.

overall worth the read, hopefully it becomes a series.