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Stephanie Douglas delivers a taut and unsettling entry into the YA dystopian landscape with Callasandra Fractured, a novel that blends high-stakes action with a keen exploration of fear, trust, and identity under surveillance.
The story opens with a jarring act of violence: Cassi Dyson’s father is abducted in front of her, leaving behind a single cryptic warning that unravels everything she thought she knew about her life. Moments later, a dimensional rupture scatters Earth’s population across unknown worlds, separating families and stripping away the illusion of safety. Cassi awakens alone in Cimerrion, a realm where outsiders are hunted and obedience is a currency of survival.
From the moment Cassi assumes a new identity to navigate a militarized training compound known as The Camp, the narrative builds an oppressive tension that rarely eases. Douglas captures the claustrophobic dread of a world where every movement is monitored and every relationship may carry a hidden cost. Cassi’s reluctant ties to the underground resistance, the Antistasi, are fraught with danger and moral ambiguity, raising questions about loyalty, betrayal, and what freedom can possibly mean in a place designed to crush it.
Douglas’s writing is brisk yet layered, balancing relentless pacing with moments of quiet, unsettling introspection. There are no easy heroes here, no guaranteed victories—only a razor-thin margin for survival and a haunting uncertainty that lingers long after the final page. Callasandra Fractured is a sharp, immersive thriller that digs beneath the surface of dystopian tropes, asking what it truly costs to keep hope alive when every move could be your last.
Callasandra Fractured
By Stephanie Douglas
When every move is watched—breaking free means risking everything
Sixteen-year-old Cassi Dyson thought she had a normal life—until the day her world shattered. In a sudden, terrifying moment, two men seize her father right in front of her. Before they drag him away, he shouts a coded message to her—the warning changes everything. Soon after, a dimensional fracture scatters Cassi—and all of Earth’s citizens—across dimensions.
Separated from her family, Cassi awakens alone in Cimerrion, a world where the government sees her as a threat and any misstep could mean capture—or worse. Not knowing who to trust, she adopts a new name—Callasandra—but even that may not be enough to keep her safe. Assigned to The Camp, a monitored sector where sixteen-year-olds are trained, Cassi must blend in to survive.
Article originally Published in the Fall 2025 Issue.