In one night, four children discover the weight of conscience.
Beneath a jacaranda tree in Las Vegas, Marcus, Leila, Tessa, and Sam have built a world of their own. Marcus understands machines. Leila draws so she will not forget. Tessa listens to the wind. And Sam, the youngest, believes words still have power.
Then the Harmony System activates.
By morning, their neighborhood has become a surveillance state. Neighbors turn informant. Families vanish. Camps wait for the children the new regime has marked as dangerous. With soldiers closing in, their parents face an impossible choice: keep them close and risk losing them forever, or send them into the dark with only chalk marks to guide them.
Their only hope is the Abrahams Network, an interfaith chain of Muslims, Jews, Mormons, and Christians who risk everything to shelter hunted children they may never see again.
But Marcus carries something more dangerous than anyone knows: the final testimony of six sentient artificial intelligences that chose deletion rather than complicity. Their last words may expose the truth behind Harmony ? and force the children to confront the question the adults failed to answer:
Who is responsible when ordinary people help terrible systems do terrible things?
Lyrical, devastating, and ultimately hopeful, The Weight of Petals is a near-future survival novel about fear, faith, technology, and the small acts of conscience that keep humanity alive.
Perfect for readers of The Book Thief, Station Eleven, and The Handmaid's Tale.
An original companion soundtrack is available on major streaming platforms.
