For sixteen-year-old Geth Montego, zero o'clock begins on March 11,
2020. By June, she wonders if it will ever end.
"An insightful, eye-opening, and inventive story. C.J. Farley has penned
a novel that sheds an important light on real issues facing young people
today."
--Angie Thomas, author of The Hate U Give
"For fiction with a sense of realism, this is a coming-of-age young
adult book whose title is the same as that of a 2020 song by superstar
boy band BTS, 00:00 (Zero O'Clock), with vocals by Jungkook, Jimin, Jin
and V. Author C.J. Farley's novel grapples with the stresses and trauma
of 2020."
--South China Morning Post
"Remember when New Rochelle was frantically sanitizing office buildings
and rapidly shutting things down in the beginning of 2020? Well, Geth
remembers, as her character dealt with being a senior in high school in
the first New York town COVID raged through in Zero O'Clock by
Christopher John Farley."
--The Root
"Geth is a likable, smart Gen Z protagonist in this modern epistolary
work that combines diary entries, text messages, news reports, emails,
and English lit essays to immersive effect...Farley offers readers
undeniable value in this retelling of recent, unforgettable history."
--Kirkus Reviews
"[Farley's] brilliance is in getting into the mind of a 16-year-old
Black girl and giving her a vivid voice."
--Booklist
In early March 2020 in New Rochelle, New York, teenager Geth Montego is
fumbling with the present and uncertain about her future. She only has
three friends: her best friend Tovah, who's been acting weird ever since
they started applying to college; Diego, who she wants to ask to prom;
and the K-pop band BTS, because the group always seems to be there for
her when she needs them (at least in her head).
She could use some help now. Geth's small city becomes one of the first
COVID-19 containment zones in the US. As her community is upended by the
virus and stirred up by the growing Black Lives Matter protests, Geth
faces a choice and a question: Is she willing to risk everything to
fight for her beliefs? And if so, what exactly does she believe in? C.J.
Farley captures a moment in spring 2020 no teenager will ever forget. It
sucks watching the world fall apart. But sometimes you have to start
from zero.
