Shutdown (Cover + Table of Contents)

He knows how it ends. She doesn't. ⏳ A serialized YA novel about a boy who knows how he will die and a girl who prefers to remain ignorant.

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Author’s Note

I wrote the first iteration of Shutdown in early 2012 and it was last edited in 2015. While it was revised based on feedback from my agent and critique partners during this window, it has never been professionally edited. You will likely find some errors while reading, but I hope you enjoy the story nonetheless.

For the full history of this rejected YA novel, see this post.
For those who want them, you can review content warnings here.

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Table of Contents

Shutdown will be serialized here on Substack, with a new chapter releasing each day until complete. If a chapter isn’t linked, it means it hasn’t been revealed yet. To make sure you don’t miss anything, become a subscriber.

• Chapter One

• Chapter Two

• Chapter Three

• Chapter Four

  • To read beyond this point, become a paying subscriber

• Chapter Five

• Chapter Six

• Chapter Seven

• Chapter Eight

• Chapter Nine

• Chapter Ten

• Chapter Eleven

• Chapter Twelve

• Chapter Thirteen

• Chapter Fourteen

• Chapter Fifteen

• Chapter Sixteen

• Chapter Seventeen

• Chapter Eighteen

• Chapter Nineteen

• Chapter Twenty

• Chapter Twenty-One

• Chapter Twenty-Two

• Chapter Twenty-Three

• Chapter Twenty-Four

• Chapter Twenty-Five

• Chapter Twenty-Six

• Chapter Twenty-Seven

• Chapter Twenty-Eight

• Chapter Twenty-Nine

• Chapter Thirty

• Chapter Thirty-One

• Chapter Thirty-Two

• Chapter Thirty-Three

• Chapter Thirty-Four

• Chapter Thirty-Five

• Chapter Thirty-Six

• Chapter Thirty-Seven

• Chapter Thirty-Eight

• Chapter Thirty-Nine

• Chapter Forty

• Chapter Forty-One

• Chapter Forty-Two

• Chapter Forty-Three

• Chapter Forty-Four

• Chapter Forty-Five

• Afterward / Author Commentary

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About the novel:

Thanks to a revolutionary, future-predicting procedure called Shutdown, Matthew Ross knows how he will die: peacefully, in his sleep, after a long, rich life. Matty finds this comforting. Unlike some, he has many days ahead of him.

Loanna Laughlin—known as Lola to her friends—lives at the Preserve, a nearby gated community that chooses to live a simpler, more unplugged life, free not only of most technology, but also of Shutdown predictions. Worried the procedures might one day be mandated by insurance companies, Lola frequently protests at the Shutdown centers. Seeing flashes of her future would be like relinquishing free will, and she refuses to let fate hold the reins of her own life.

When Matty first meets Lola, he instantly recognizes her. She appeared in his Shutdown prediction—in many of the visuals leading up to his death. She was even in his bed on the night he’ll supposedly die. As their cautious friendship grows into something more, Matty must decide: Can he bear to tell Lola that he approached her solely because of his Shutdown prediction? Is their relationship real or the product of a drug, and will she reject him when she learns the truth? She wouldn’t—couldn’t—even if she wanted to, right? After all, Matty knows the future. Matty knows how this ends.

Unless, of course, Shutdown predictions aren’t set in stone and neither Matty—nor anyone else—actually knows what waits ahead.

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Shutdown © 2022 by Erin Bowman

Cover Design by Erin Bowman
Photography by Nathan Dumlao, Ahmet Sali, TravelerGeek