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Instead of Doing Nothing
The Hunger Games meets The Handmaid's Tale
1936, Starkesend, USA. In the isolated community of Starkesend, residents know what's expected of them. Most duties are divided—men become leaders, women take care of the home, and children learn manners and structure in school—but there's one task everyone undertakes: embracing and spreading hate.
Everyone, that is, except 17-year-old Lizbeth, who's doubted Starkesend throughout the decade she's lived there. A forced marriage to her sister's killer places these misgivings front and center, and Lizbeth must decide if escaping her cruel society is enough or if she must destroy it before becoming her husband's next victim.
Set during the road to World War II, Instead of Doing Nothing explores the power of cruelty and the choice we must make between doing nothing to stop it and sacrificing our comfort to confront it head on. While the story has dark undertones, it focuses on heroes instead of hate throughout the narrative.
1936, Starkesend, USA. In the isolated community of Starkesend, residents know what's expected of them. Most duties are divided—men become leaders, women take care of the home, and children learn manners and structure in school—but there's one task everyone undertakes: embracing and spreading hate.
Everyone, that is, except 17-year-old Lizbeth, who's doubted Starkesend throughout the decade she's lived there. A forced marriage to her sister's killer places these misgivings front and center, and Lizbeth must decide if escaping her cruel society is enough or if she must destroy it before becoming her husband's next victim.
Set during the road to World War II, Instead of Doing Nothing explores the power of cruelty and the choice we must make between doing nothing to stop it and sacrificing our comfort to confront it head on. While the story has dark undertones, it focuses on heroes instead of hate throughout the narrative.
334 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 2, 2025
4 people want to read
About the author
Leigh Foley
2 books4 followersLeigh is an author and criminologist who lives on Florida’s Treasure Coast with her drummer husband, her two children, and their five fur babies.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
April 27, 2025
A wonderful story about people choosing to do good when surrounded by evil. The characters drew me in and I read it in a day. In this dark dystopian world the reader is still filled with hope, and the ending completely surprised me. Highly recommended.
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