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Middle Ground
100 days that will determine the future of America. The countdown has begun.
When an ordinary nurse becomes the target of a relentless online hate storm, her quiet life is shattered overnight. But what begins as an isolated personal crisis soon sets off a chain of events that brings the fate of America and the entire world into the balance.
Note from the author
These are truly turbulent times we are living through, and as a European watching an increasingly polarized America tear itself apart from within, I can't help but wonder how it will all end. Is it still possible for people to find a uniting MIDDLE GROUND before it all comes crashing down? Or is it already too late?
Unfortunately, nobody has the answer to this dire question.
Only time will tell.
But no matter how it ends, one thing is for sure - the entire world will be impacted. For better or for worse.
Though the MIDDLE GROUND series and all its characters are purely fictional, I'm using it as a personal thought experiment to explore what kinds of things might happen if extreme polarization and misinformation are allowed to persist in such a wealthy, powerful, and heavily armed country.
When an ordinary nurse becomes the target of a relentless online hate storm, her quiet life is shattered overnight. But what begins as an isolated personal crisis soon sets off a chain of events that brings the fate of America and the entire world into the balance.
Note from the author
These are truly turbulent times we are living through, and as a European watching an increasingly polarized America tear itself apart from within, I can't help but wonder how it will all end. Is it still possible for people to find a uniting MIDDLE GROUND before it all comes crashing down? Or is it already too late?
Unfortunately, nobody has the answer to this dire question.
Only time will tell.
But no matter how it ends, one thing is for sure - the entire world will be impacted. For better or for worse.
Though the MIDDLE GROUND series and all its characters are purely fictional, I'm using it as a personal thought experiment to explore what kinds of things might happen if extreme polarization and misinformation are allowed to persist in such a wealthy, powerful, and heavily armed country.
415 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 5, 2025
About the author
Adria Carmichael
13 books170 followersAdria Carmichael is a writer of Young Adult Dystopian fiction with a twist. When she is not devouring dystopian and post-apocalyptic content in any format - books, movies, TV-series and PlayStation games - she is crafting the epic and highly-addictive Juche saga, her 2020 debut novel series that takes place in the brutal, totalitarian nation of Choson. When the limit of doom and gloom is reached, a 10K run on a sunny day or binging a silly sitcom on a rainy day is her go-to way to unwind.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 13, 2025
It made me ashamed of my own online behavior
I’ve shared posts like the one that destroyed Alicia. I’ve clicked ‘like’ on call outs. I’ve scrolled past people’s breakdowns and said nothing. This story forced me to face that.
What really messed me up? Alicia used to do this. She was on the other side part of the mob, thinking she was helping the world. She wasn’t innocent. But that’s what made it powerful. We’re all part of it. The way the story quietly turns the mirror on the reader is brilliant and brutal.
This isn’t about “sides.” It’s about what happens when we stop seeing people as people and start seeing them as content.
I’ve shared posts like the one that destroyed Alicia. I’ve clicked ‘like’ on call outs. I’ve scrolled past people’s breakdowns and said nothing. This story forced me to face that.
What really messed me up? Alicia used to do this. She was on the other side part of the mob, thinking she was helping the world. She wasn’t innocent. But that’s what made it powerful. We’re all part of it. The way the story quietly turns the mirror on the reader is brilliant and brutal.
This isn’t about “sides.” It’s about what happens when we stop seeing people as people and start seeing them as content.
July 14, 2025
It’s a horror story disguised as realism
Seriously, this reads like psychological horror. The pings from the phone. The spiraling. The feeling of being watched by people you can’t see but know are out there, judging you. This isn’t a thriller, but it had my heart in my throat for chapters at a time.
The author nailed the emotional collapse of someone being digitally dismantled. The pacing was perfect fast when Alicia was panicking, slow and suffocating when she was paralyzed. The inner monologue felt too real. I don’t know if it was written from experience or just deeply researched, but it felt lived in.
This isn’t a dystopia. It’s today. That’s what makes it terrifying.
Seriously, this reads like psychological horror. The pings from the phone. The spiraling. The feeling of being watched by people you can’t see but know are out there, judging you. This isn’t a thriller, but it had my heart in my throat for chapters at a time.
The author nailed the emotional collapse of someone being digitally dismantled. The pacing was perfect fast when Alicia was panicking, slow and suffocating when she was paralyzed. The inner monologue felt too real. I don’t know if it was written from experience or just deeply researched, but it felt lived in.
This isn’t a dystopia. It’s today. That’s what makes it terrifying.
April 2, 2026
Excellent read! Very timely to today.
February 8, 2026
As a US citizen myself, I have been watching the turmoil that is the US government happen in real time. I was so curious to see how this author in particular was going turn the life I am seeing flash before my eyes, a dystopian novel. I have previously read Adria Carmichael's Korean dystopian books "Juche" and loved them. So I needed to take a chance on this new political novel of hers.
This poor nurse who has always been sympathetic to the downtrodden is getting tromped on herself this time. And she no longer has her friends to help her. Now what is she supposed to to do?
Can she start a new life somewhere else in the middle of a town of people who are politically polar opposites of what she has always been?
This poor nurse who has always been sympathetic to the downtrodden is getting tromped on herself this time. And she no longer has her friends to help her. Now what is she supposed to to do?
Can she start a new life somewhere else in the middle of a town of people who are politically polar opposites of what she has always been?
July 10, 2025
A Stark Mirror of Our Times
In this timely and unflinching story, a nation on the brink of collapse becomes the backdrop for one woman’s fight to hold onto her humanity. As democracy crumbles under the weight of polarization, corruption, and chaos, an ordinary nurse is thrust into extraordinary circumstances.
With media distortion, corporate controlled leadership, and rising hate, the world feels alarmingly familiar making this not just a dystopian tale, but a chilling reflection of reality. Through the eyes of the nurse, we see the personal cost of a broken system, where truth is silenced, and survival demands impossible choices.
Sharp, urgent, and emotionally resonant, this is a powerful narrative about resilience in the face of societal decay and the quiet strength it takes to care in a world that’s forgotten how.
In this timely and unflinching story, a nation on the brink of collapse becomes the backdrop for one woman’s fight to hold onto her humanity. As democracy crumbles under the weight of polarization, corruption, and chaos, an ordinary nurse is thrust into extraordinary circumstances.
With media distortion, corporate controlled leadership, and rising hate, the world feels alarmingly familiar making this not just a dystopian tale, but a chilling reflection of reality. Through the eyes of the nurse, we see the personal cost of a broken system, where truth is silenced, and survival demands impossible choices.
Sharp, urgent, and emotionally resonant, this is a powerful narrative about resilience in the face of societal decay and the quiet strength it takes to care in a world that’s forgotten how.
July 31, 2025
Middle Ground by Adria Carmichael is a sharp, unsettling dive into a near-future society unraveling under political chaos. Told through the eyes of a nurse caught in the crossfire, it paints a hauntingly believable picture of division, corruption, and social decay. Gripping, thought-provoking, and disturbingly timely.
Middle Ground by Adria Carmichael is a sharp, unsettling dive into a near future society unraveling under political chaos. Told through the eyes of a nurse caught in the crossfire, it paints a hauntingly believable picture of division, corruption, and social decay. Gripping, thought provoking, and disturbingly timely
Middle Ground by Adria Carmichael is a sharp, unsettling dive into a near future society unraveling under political chaos. Told through the eyes of a nurse caught in the crossfire, it paints a hauntingly believable picture of division, corruption, and social decay. Gripping, thought provoking, and disturbingly timely
July 10, 2025
In the Middle One Nurse. One Nation on the Brink.
In a country unraveling from within where truth is twisted, leaders are bought, and justice feels out of reach one ordinary nurse finds herself swept into extraordinary chaos.
As democracy crumbles under political extremes, propaganda, and rising hate, she’s forced to navigate a world where empathy is rare and survival is personal.
Torn between duty and disillusionment, her story is a raw, human look at what happens when the system breaks and the quiet courage it takes to keep going anyway.
In a country unraveling from within where truth is twisted, leaders are bought, and justice feels out of reach one ordinary nurse finds herself swept into extraordinary chaos.
As democracy crumbles under political extremes, propaganda, and rising hate, she’s forced to navigate a world where empathy is rare and survival is personal.
Torn between duty and disillusionment, her story is a raw, human look at what happens when the system breaks and the quiet courage it takes to keep going anyway.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews