On the Edge of Now: Book I -- The Departure

Brian McCullough’s On the Edge of Now, Book I—The Departure, the first in a seven-book, teen and young adult science fiction award-winning series, transports readers to a parallel realm mirroring Tag’s own existence—but things aren’t the same. Cities look like his with only slight nuances to buildings and culture—until, that is, he finds himself immersed in a universe ruled by those who crave unity. And, power.

"It was time. She retreated to her position directly in front of the archway feeling the immense void of the light’s source drawing her toward its opening, filling her with an almost physical compulsion to step inside. The voices! Closer now! With little time to think, her mind formed a picture of her mother looking back at her, smiling.
“Oh, what the hell!”