The Smallest Thing by Lisa Manterfield

The very last thing 17-year-old Emmott Syddall wants is to turn out like her dad.  She’s descended from ten generations who never left their dull English village, and there’s no way she’s going to waste a perfectly good life that way.  She’s lined up a part-time job in London, saved enough money for a slightly moldy bedsit, and persuaded her musician boyfriend, Ro, to go with her.  Nothing is going to stop her, and she swears she is never coming back.

But when the unexplained deaths of her neighbours force the government to quarantine the village, Em learns what it truly means to be trapped.  Dodging the watchful eye of Aiden, a HAZMAT-suited relief worker intent on befriending her, she enlists Ro’s help to escape.  But when Ro betrays her and Aiden reveals the deadly consequences of her breaking the quarantine, Em must choose.  Will she pursue her desire for freedom or do what’s best for the people she loves: her dad, her infected best friend Deb, and, to her surprise, the mysterious man in the HAZMAT suit?

Inspired by the historical story of the plague village of Eyam, this tale of friendship, community, and impossible love weaves the horrors of recent news headlines with the intimate details of how it feels to become an adult - and fall in love - in the midst of tragedy. 

Format: Paperback