Samuel Brandt woke up with his thoughts written all over his body. His brother woke up with his head missing. His sister woke up to find that her skin would crack open unless she stayed in water. All of the other children in the secluded Iowa town of Oak Knoll woke up having undergone strange transformations. Now, they are all forced to live at 407 West Marshall Street, the mysterious house outside of town. With the new name of The Boy with Words for Skin, Samuel wants nothing more than to hide from his new life. He painfully and unpredictably sheds his skin, there is a Voice in the entryway closet that is often cruel, and-perhaps worst of all for a naturally shy boy-the other children look to him as a leader. As his seven-year-old brother struggles with their new life, as terrifying growls start to come from the pitch black basement, and as his feelings for a girl begin to grow, The Boy with Words for Skin realizes that he wants to change. He wants to put others first, learn from his peers, and let himself hope that things will get better. The Boy with Words for Skin is the first book in the 407 West Marshall Street series. Each book will advance the story but be told from a different character. Book 2 will be The Girl without Eyes.

"Human beings are vile, nasty creatures. Blood thirsty. Evil by their very nature. That is was we were told. By them. Humans relished for millennia in systematically destroying one another. Our innate yearning for violence lead to not only the destruction of ourselves, but of our planet. Our home. Our planet was dead, our species nearly extinct, so we left. Those who survived dreamed of finding a new planet, a safe haven where we could start over. But our technology was failing and we never made it to our destination. We were adrift in space. Destined to die in the emptiness of the universe. It was luck that the Morrí heard the signal broadcasting. It was altruism that they came to our aid. It was their generosity that provided a home and a life for the remaining humans. They were our saviors. Without the Morrí, the last of humankind would have perished along with a broken vessel. That, at least, was the version of history we were taught. Humans had to earn their place among the Morrí. Humans must prove themselves. Humans are not to be trusted due to our volatile nature. Humans owed their very existence to their Morrí superiors." Keep your head down and survive. Don't attract the attention of our Saviors. Lena has spent her life following the rules set forth by her father to avoid any conflict with the alien race who saved humanity. It's worked for the most part, until a chance encounter leads to her becoming entangled in a dangerous game of politics and war between Morrí leaders. All of her perceptions of the race she's served her whole life are challenged as she's forced to put her trust in one who she's always considered an enemy.