The Ooze

By Tash McAdam

Bran's taking the recycling down to the basement when the lights go out and the elevator stalls.

Bran's phone's dead, he can hear screaming, but he can't get out. Eventually, he manages to pry the doors open to find that something's very wrong. His own mother can't remember his name, there is this black slime dripping out of her ear and then she kills their cat. Bran runs. Outside, Vancouver is teeming with people acting strangely, and they all have the same black slime in their ears. What is going on and how can Bran stop it?

This short novel is a high-interest, low-reading level book for teen readers who are building reading skills, want a quick read or say they don’t like to read! The epub edition of this title is fully accessible.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Orca Book Publishers
• Release date: Feb 15, 2022
• ISBN: 9781459828506

Tash McAdam

Tash McAdam is a Welsh Canadian author of several books for young people, including The Psionics series and the bestselling Blood Sport and Sink or Swim in the Orca Soundings line. Tash identifies as trans and queer and uses the neutral pronoun they. They teach high school English and computer science and have a couple of black belts in karate. They live in Vancouver.

Book preview

The Ooze by Tash McAdam. The eerie face of a young person lit from below. Their eyes are completely white and a dark fluid drips from their nose.

The Ooze

Orca Book Publishers is proud of the excellent work our authors and illustrators do and of the important stories they create. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it or did not check it out from a library provider, then the contributors have not received royalties for this book. Unless purchased as part of a multi-user subscription, the ebook you are reading is licensed for single use only and may not be copied, printed, resold or given away.

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The Ooze

Tash McAdam

Logo: Orca AnchorOrca Book Publishers

Copyright © Tash McAdam 2022

Published in Canada and the United States in 2022 by Orca Book Publishers.

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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Title: The ooze / Tash McAdam.

Names: McAdam, Tash, author.

Description: Series statement: Orca anchor

Identifiers: Canadiana (print) 2021016669X | Canadiana (ebook) 20210166738 | ISBN 9781459828483 (softcover) | ISBN 9781459828490 (PDF) | ISBN 9781459828506 (EPUB) Classification: LCC PS8625.A5582 O69 2022 | DDC jc813/.6—dc23

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021934071

Summary: In this high-interest accessible novel for teen readers, trans teen Bran tries to uncover what is causing everyone to start acting so violently.

Orca Book Publishers is committed to reducing the consumption of nonrenewable resources in the production of our books. We make every effort to use materials that support a sustainable future.

Orca Book Publishers gratefully acknowledges the support for its publishing programs provided by the following agencies: the Government of Canada, the Canada Council for the Arts and the Province of British Columbia through the BC Arts Council and the Book Publishing Tax Credit.

Design by Ella Collier

Edited by Tanya Trafford

Cover photography by Getty Images/Jasmin Merdan

Author photo by Emma Fierling

For Dylan

Chapter One

Bran jabs the elevator button with his elbow and waits for the doors to close. The empty recycling tubs are lighter now. They’re still big, though, and he has to use both hands to hold them. The