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Fair Coin
E. C. Myers
287 pp • ISBN: 978-1-61614-609-2
Hardcover ("5 ½ x 8 ½") • $16.95
March 2012
Cover illustration ©Sam Weber
Ephraim is horrified when he comes home from school one day to find his mother unconscious at the kitchen table, clutching a bottle of pills. Even more disturbing than her suicide attempt is the reason for it: the dead boy she identified at the hospital that afternoon—a boy who looks exactly like him.
While examining his dead double’s belongings, Ephraim discovers a strange coin that makes his wishes come true each time he flips it. Before long, he’s wished his alcoholic mother into a model parent, and the girl he’s liked since second grade suddenly notices him.
But Ephraim soon realizes that the coin comes with consequences—several wishes go disastrously wrong, his best friend Nathan becomes obsessed with the coin, and the world begins to change in unexpected ways.
As Ephraim learns the coin’s secrets and how to control its power, he must find a way to keep it from Nathan and return to the world he remembers.
Reviews
"This one reminded me a lot of Scott Westerfeld's Uglies. There's so much to love here: madcap adventure, chewy theoretical physics, realistic angst, serious stakes leavened by hilarious snark. The kind of book smart kids will love."
—N.K. Jemisin, The Inheritance Trilogy
"Funny, flirtatious, and unexpectedly poignant, Fair Coin takes the phrase 'be careful what you wish for' and runs with it. A stand-out debut from an author to watch."
—Lauren McLaughlin, author of Scored
Praise for E. C. Myers' Short Fiction
"This was one of the most moving, and in an unforced way original,
stories in the collection..."
—Seamus Sweeney, SF Site
"I thought this was a well-written story. It reveals its plot right up front, which I appreciate, and it's a good length, not carrying things too far."
—Jo-Anne Odell, Tangent Online
"Myers has made every word count in this piece, saying as much through words omitted as through those committed to paper, and producing a piece that is worth reading more than once."
—Kimberly Lundstrom, The Fix
"I thoroughly loved this book. Rather than finding just another same-old, same-old book, this one smashed through the mold, and I'm so thrilled to say it's p
robably my favourite read in 2012 thus far. I give it a 5 out of 5,
and I highly recommend this book to all fans of YA, especially
those who enjoy male MCs, science fiction and fantasy."
—I Swim for Oceans
"Fair Coin is a refreshingly unique read… I loved the characters, I loved the concept, and most of all I loved how immersed I was in the story."
—Hopelessly Devoted Bibliophile
E. C. Myers
E. C. Myers was assembled from Korean and German parts in Yonkers, New York, where he was raised jointly by a mother and the public library. He is a graduate of the Clarion West Writers Workshop and a member of the prolific NYC writing group Altered Fluid. In the rare moments when he isn’t writing, he blogs about Star Trek at theviewscreen.com, plays video games, watches classic films and television, sleeps as little as possible, and spends too much time on the internet. To find out more about E. C. Myers and his activities, short story publications, and novels, visit ecmyers.net, or find him on Twitter @ecmyers.
