If she can just keep outta trouble, Mirii Mahoney is going to taste freedom for the first time, but she’s fighting against the system, against the other kids, and against herself. A heartfelt, brutal, funny, and diverse story about when corporate interests overwhelm human rights, and what happens to children when they bloom in the darkest of places.
'Takes all of your dystopian nightmares and connects them to a mother lode of pure emotional intensity. There's so much keen detail here about the cruel logic of oppressive institutions, you'll feel Mirii's yearning for freedom in your bones - and you'll rejoice at every tiny moment of escape that she achieves. Welcome to Orphancorp is harrowing, scarily real, and ultimately super moving.' - Charlie Jane Anders (i09)
'Punchy, crunchy, sexy and smart, Welcome to Orphancorp is a short, sharp shock of a story with bruised-but-not-broken characters and a bonsai dystopia you can actually believe in. Marlee Jane Ward is a writer of heart and passion, muscle and slow-burning anger.' - Ian McDonald
'Welcome to Orphancorp is an intimate, heartfelt story set in the darkest of places. I can't stop thinking about these characters.' - Kij Johnson
'An object lesson in how to dehumanise young people by locking them up and depriving them of all warmth and care - has never been more timely. This gritty, greasy story is peppered with violence and lit with the slenderest shafts of affection and hope. It will make your jaw clench with fear for the indomitable Mirii Mahoney, and your fist punch the air at her every tiny victory.' - Margo Lanagan
