Fragile Remedy — YA Queer Dystopian Fantasy
He was made to die. Now he has a reason to live.
Sixteen-year-old Nate is a GEM—Genetically Engineered Medi-tissue created by the scientists of Gathos City as a cure for the elite from the fatal lung rot ravaging the population. As a child, he was smuggled out of the laboratory where he was held captive and into the Withers—a quarantined, lawless region. Nate manages to survive by using his engineering skills to become a Tinkerer, fixing broken tech in exchange for food or a safe place to sleep. When he meets Reed, a kind and fiercely protective boy that makes his heart race, and his misfit gang of scavengers, Nate finds the family he’s always longed for—even if he can’t risk telling them what he is.
But Gathos created a genetic failsafe in their GEMs—a flaw that causes their health to rapidly deteriorate as they age unless they are regularly dosed with medication controlled by Gathos City. As Nate’s health declines, his hard-won freedom is put in jeopardy. Violence erupts across the Withers, his illegal supply of medicine is cut off, and a vicious attack on Reed threatens to expose his secret. With time running out, Nate is left with only two options: work for a shadowy terrorist organization that has the means to keep him alive, or stay—and die—with the boy he loves.
Praise for Fragile Remedy
"A tender story about found family, friendship, and finding out who you are that will break your heart in all the best ways."
—Linsey Miller, BELLE RÉVOLTE
“A boy-loves-boy dystopian fantasy for anyone needing a heartbreaking thrill.”
—Kirkus
"Mora deftly explores the raw impulses of humans through a foreboding lens: when faced with unimaginable obstacles some manage to strive for connection, resistance, and even love, and it is in that clawing against defeat that the most heartbreaking and memorable stories lie."
—Bulletin of the Center of Children's Books
"Readers will respond to the warmth, caring, and romance between young people living on the very edge."
—Booklist
"Those seeking a vivid visit to the dystopian dark side can start here."
—School Library Journal
Media Kit
Download a high res cover, bio, and headshots here
Fragile Remedy Content Warnings
The following content warnings may contain spoilers.
Please note that Fragile Remedy contains the following content:
Terminal illness due to genetic tampering.
Bleeding/blood.
A character struggles with self-worth and whether they deserve to live.
Characters are addicted to drugs and experience symptoms of withdrawal.
Violence in the form of a stabbing, biting, explosions orchestrated by a terrorist group, fighting, and burning.
A character is held against their will, and is at times restrained by zip ties.
Vomiting, chronic illness, severe headaches.
A trans character has overcome addiction and has scars from previous drug use.
A character attempts to human traffic their own child.
Mentions of human trafficking and sex trade.
Mentions of experiments performed on humans in a laboratory setting.
Mention of infertility.
Characters briefly wade through sewage.
Poverty, hunger, and homelessness are described explicitly.
Epidemic disease occurred decades before the start of the story.