The Loudness

Henry Long doesn’t have a heart.

Since the Tragedies, he doesn’t have much: just an annoying low-watt buzz from his makeshift transplant, skinny arms, and a dusty library attic from which he charts the slow progress of reconstruction in the Green Zone, the last habitable neighborhood of his troubled coastal city. While his parents work on making the Green Zone independent from a federal government that appears to have abandoned them, Henry himself feels increasingly left on his own—that is, until he discovers a refugee artists’ colony called the Other Side. When the federales don’t take kindly to the Green Zone’s attempts at secession and kidnap Henry’s parents, Henry and his new renegade friends are forced from the colorful streets and underground rock clubs of the Other Side to an overcrowded capital city on the verge of collapse.

As Henry uncovers more about the conflicting forces that run his corner of the world, he realizes that not everyone is who they seem to be—himself included. His artificial heart may turn out to be more of a blessing than a curse. In this stunning, fast-paced, and punk rock–like first middle grade novel by author Nick Courage, young readers will be propelled into another world where superheroes emerge from the unlikeliest people.

Sky Pony Press, with our Good Books, Racehorse and Arcade imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of books for young readers—picture books for small children, chapter books, books for middle grade readers, and novels for young adults. Our list includes bestsellers for children who love to play Minecraft; stories told with LEGO bricks; books that teach lessons about tolerance, patience, and the environment, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

Nick Courage is a New Orleans–born artist, musician, writer, and aspiring skateboarder. His work has appeared in Full Stop and Exquisite Corpse, where Andrei Codrescu described his poetry as “a fresh sort of daring in the overstrained broth of contemporary American poetry,” and his continually evolving Lit Rock playlist was called “one of the best things to ever happen to Spotify” by The Millions. Nick works in book publishing, where he has spent close to a decade connecting books with readers. He currently lives with his wife and two cats in Brooklyn, New York

"The story touches on a variety of themes: ecology, power-hungry politicians, music and art as sources of hope, family loyalty, and dangerous double crossing. The plot’s exciting action mounts as Henry’s parents are kidnapped and he takes on the Other Siders, people from the City, pickers, federales, friends who might be enemies, and enemies who might be friends, in order to be reunited with them. There is also budding first love, as Henry and Ava (aka Freckles) adventure together. In the final chapters, superhero powers and blinding beams of light appear, paving the way for a sequel. Verdict: A solid debut recommended for larger collections."—School Library Journal

"The Loudness has inklings of a superhero story. The setting is a city that is dark and troubled, and Henry emerges as the hero who has the power to wield spheres of electricity in his hands. The story, however, focuses more on Henry’s interactions with different characters and less on his power. The characters that Henry interacts with are somewhat strange and bewildering, and the descriptions of the places in the story and the events that caused the destruction are rather mystifying. The ending, nevertheless, comes to a satisfying conclusion and hints at a possible sequel.Those who prefer a little something different than the run-of-the-mill dystopian story may enjoy this book."—VOYA