In a frozen Union city where every life is planned for the Space Race, fifteen-year-old Fern Johnson dreams of becoming a comedian in a world that has no room for laughter. When she discovers an old book on the power of “Yes, And,” she and her brother Gustav begin to question the perfect system that controls them—and the asteroid-shaped future it was built to survive.
Part dystopian thriller, part coming-of-age story, The Cult of Yes And explores what it means to choose truth, humor, and humanity when the price of saying yes could change everything.
The future you imagined? Yes…. And much more
“Rose, you were bred for this”
“Fern, the Union doesn’t need comedians; it needs factory workers.”
In a frozen Canadian city under the iron grip of the Union, fifteen-year-old Fern Johnson dreams of one thing: making people laugh. But jokes aren’t on the approved list. Factories need workers. The Space Elevator needs bodies. And the all-powerful Central Coordinating Committee has already decided everyone’s perfect future.
When Fern stumbles on a mysterious old book about “Yes, And” improv, she discovers a dangerous idea: what if you stopped fighting reality… and started adding something better? Together with her whip-smart brother Gustav, their rule-breaking neighbor Jeff, and a secret circle of kids keeping old arcade games and forbidden dreams alive, Fern begins to question everything the grown-ups swear is for humanity’s own good.
Funny, fierce, and full of heart, this gripping sci-fi adventure follows a girl who refuses to let a gray, scripted world steal her spark. Perfect for readers who love The Hunger Games, Divergent, and anyone who’s ever wondered if laughter might just be the ultimate rebellion.
Get ready for a future you never saw coming… Yes—and more.
A sharp, thought-provoking YA science-fiction novel that explores the tension between centralized control and human flourishing in a near-future world.
Set in a meticulously planned Canadian Union where the Central Coordinating Committee dictates careers, resources, and even daily life in the name of species-level survival and multi-planetary expansion, the story follows a bright, irrepressible thirteen-year-old girl named Fern who refuses to let a gray, efficiency-obsessed society extinguish her creativity. When Fern discovers an old book on improvisational philosophy—“Yes, And”—she begins to experiment with radical acceptance paired with playful agency, quietly challenging the scripted existence around her alongside her brother and a small network of misfits.
Written with the page-turning momentum of The Hunger Games and the emotional depth of classic dystopian YA, this novel offers educators and teachers a rich text for exploring themes of critical thinking, resilience, humor as resistance, and the developmental costs of over-managed societies. It raises vital questions about the shadow side of grand coordination systems, the role of individual spark in collective progress, and how societies might better integrate structure with emergence, conformity with genuine creativity, and long-term survival goals with present-day human aliveness.
Elegant, hopeful, and unflinchingly honest, The Cult of Yes And invites readers to consider: What kind of future are we actually building—and what might we add to it?
Yes—and more.
