The Goners Volume One

IT WASN'T SUICIDE EXACTLY; IT WAS SOMETHING A LITTLE MORE..MEANINGFUL. For 22nd-century Americans who have lost the will to live, the Meaningful Conclusion Program offers a way to end it all with purpose, performing mortally dangerous work for the betterment of humankind. MCs they were called officially, but on the streets they were called Goners. They went out on fire, at mind-boggling speeds, in crevices of the Moon and Mars; went out getting the last laugh on drug-lords and terrorists, curing diseases that had plagued the world forever. Few knew what transpired behind the Program's shroud--they only knew that it was epic, heroic, and good..a win-win for everybody, right? >Kaywin is 46--well, it doesn't matter how old Kaywin is. When his girls died 4 years ago, his heart died with them. Maybe now, by his sacrifice, some other family will be spared from ruin. >Dublin, 16, is ugly. Desperate for a nameless girl he knows he will never find, he cannot stand 1 more day of looking. He wishes he could see their faces now, every girl who ever pointed, laughed, or pretended to throw up; wishes they could watch him die and know that his blood was on their hands. >Prudence, also 16, doesn't want your pity. Save it for the old man, or the ugly kid. It's too late for what she wants--a normal childhood in a safe home, with a father who doesn't abuse her to finance his addictions. There would have been 1000 easier ways to kill herself, but deep down, a part of her extraordinary self wants to see what she could do in 1 fair fight. >Kaywin, Dublin and Prudence have zero in common beyond the fact that they have all long ago given up on themselves. When they stumble on a terrible secret that threatens the entire Earth, they must push each other to defy the limits of their own despair, and the Program itself, to save a world that has chewed them up and spit them out. If they succeed, against all odds, they can die in peace. If they fail--then we are all Goners.