On the Bricks, set in the small town of West Plains, Arkansas, is the debut novel from Penni Jones. And from the opening chapters, the hopelessness of a drug-fuelled, dead-end existence for the main characters seeps uncomfortably, yet convincingly from the pages. Ms. Jones’...

Kricket by Penni Jones is a dystopian novel set in present times. Kricket is a member of the Religious Resistance, fighting to restore religious freedom after the Religious Uniformity Act took it away. A close call sees Kricket leaving the activists to protect her daughter...