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Emancipation Warriors #0.5
The Agitator
She’s Been Imprisoned. Tortured. Reconditioned. But She’s Never Forgotten the Truth.
Eighteen-year-old Sunshine Hemmerly has completed her training at the Great Plains Academy for Children and Young Adults—training intended to brainwash her and make her fit into the corrupt society of the United Regions of North America.
But Sunshine has never forgotten the lessons from her rebel parents. Faith. Hope. Truth. And the determination to never, ever stop fighting for freedom.
Once released, her laser-like focus is to find the Emancipation Warriors and join them in their quest to overthrow the government of the United Regions of North America.
But to do that, Sunshine will have to be more cunning than she thought possible, stretch her abilities to beyond the breaking point, and face a choice that will force her to leave every moment of her old life behind.
The Agitator is the throat-clenching companion novella to Marissa Shrock’s critically acclaimed novel, The Liberation.
Eighteen-year-old Sunshine Hemmerly has completed her training at the Great Plains Academy for Children and Young Adults—training intended to brainwash her and make her fit into the corrupt society of the United Regions of North America.
But Sunshine has never forgotten the lessons from her rebel parents. Faith. Hope. Truth. And the determination to never, ever stop fighting for freedom.
Once released, her laser-like focus is to find the Emancipation Warriors and join them in their quest to overthrow the government of the United Regions of North America.
But to do that, Sunshine will have to be more cunning than she thought possible, stretch her abilities to beyond the breaking point, and face a choice that will force her to leave every moment of her old life behind.
The Agitator is the throat-clenching companion novella to Marissa Shrock’s critically acclaimed novel, The Liberation.
93 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 23, 2016
37 people want to read
About the author
Marissa Shrock
22 books73 followersMarissa Shrock is a survivor of many awkward blind dates and many years of teaching middle school. Both provide excellent inspiration for her fictional yarns.
Since childhood, she’s loved to read a variety of genres, so her own work includes dystopian thrillers and cozy mysteries. She’s the author of the Emancipation Warriors Series and the Georgia Rae Winston Mystery Series. Her debut novel, The First Principle, was a Carol Award Finalist.
Marissa enjoys playing golf, building elaborate LEGO creations, and traveling to new places. Her home is in Indiana, where she’s surrounded by corn and soybean fields.
Since childhood, she’s loved to read a variety of genres, so her own work includes dystopian thrillers and cozy mysteries. She’s the author of the Emancipation Warriors Series and the Georgia Rae Winston Mystery Series. Her debut novel, The First Principle, was a Carol Award Finalist.
Marissa enjoys playing golf, building elaborate LEGO creations, and traveling to new places. Her home is in Indiana, where she’s surrounded by corn and soybean fields.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 15, 2016
Sunshine Hemmerly has gone through it all—imprisonment, torture, and starvation. All to be reconditioned by the United Regions of North America. Did it work?
No. She held steadfast to the faith of her childhood. Now on her eighteenth birthday it was time to leave the Great Plains Academy for Children and step out into the real world. However, she was leaving a piece of her behind—her brother. They were taken captive by the government when their parents were imprisoned. Now, Sunshine vows to find them and the Emancipation Warriors—a rebel sanction trying to fight the dystopian world. Can she do it without tipping off the government and putting her brother in danger?
She lands a job as an agitator within the enemy camp where she has to use different personas to comment on rebel social media sites and articles, reinforcing the government’s agenda and stirring up the pot. She’s soon thrust into a world of secrets, loyalty tests, and even murder.
Who can she trust? How can she keep her brother safe? Will she fall prey to the lies and deceit of the government?
The Agitator is a delightful novella that sets up Marissa Shrock’s Emancipation Warrior series nicely. It takes us inside one of the main character’s world – Agatha Sparks (aka Sunshine Hemmerly). It reveals what Agatha went through to take us to where we see her in the book, The Liberation.
Ms. Shrock does an excellent job of setting up her characters. They’re well rounded with good and not-so-good traits. The plot keeps the reader turning the pages and she throws in some nice twists.
Her use of sensory details is effective and puts the reader right where they should be—right in the pages of the book.
I give The Agitator five stars. It’s one rebel cause you’ll want to jump on board with!
**I received a complimentary e-copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest review.
No. She held steadfast to the faith of her childhood. Now on her eighteenth birthday it was time to leave the Great Plains Academy for Children and step out into the real world. However, she was leaving a piece of her behind—her brother. They were taken captive by the government when their parents were imprisoned. Now, Sunshine vows to find them and the Emancipation Warriors—a rebel sanction trying to fight the dystopian world. Can she do it without tipping off the government and putting her brother in danger?
She lands a job as an agitator within the enemy camp where she has to use different personas to comment on rebel social media sites and articles, reinforcing the government’s agenda and stirring up the pot. She’s soon thrust into a world of secrets, loyalty tests, and even murder.
Who can she trust? How can she keep her brother safe? Will she fall prey to the lies and deceit of the government?
The Agitator is a delightful novella that sets up Marissa Shrock’s Emancipation Warrior series nicely. It takes us inside one of the main character’s world – Agatha Sparks (aka Sunshine Hemmerly). It reveals what Agatha went through to take us to where we see her in the book, The Liberation.
Ms. Shrock does an excellent job of setting up her characters. They’re well rounded with good and not-so-good traits. The plot keeps the reader turning the pages and she throws in some nice twists.
Her use of sensory details is effective and puts the reader right where they should be—right in the pages of the book.
I give The Agitator five stars. It’s one rebel cause you’ll want to jump on board with!
**I received a complimentary e-copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest review.
April 27, 2020
This is not a world I want to be a part of. Christians are hated (well, we are almost there now) and the government has control over every part of people's lives.
An Agitator is someone who looks through internet chat rooms and tries to sway public opinion on posts that are contrary in some way to the governmental system. When (she has so many alias' it's hard to remember her name at this point, she eventually becomes known as Agatha) Agatha leaves her reorientation school, after her parents are arrested for being part of the rebel faction trying to shut down the government she and her brother are sent here, and is given a job as an Agitator. It is against everything inside of her, but as she gets promotions and moves up in the world, she starts to lose sight of what she was fighting to stay apart for. When her world comes crashing down it's the rebels that rescue her and she becomes a part of their world - a place she wanted to get to all along!
This is a clean but somewhat disturbing story. Hell is mentioned a couple of times but is descriptive of what they are going through.
An Agitator is someone who looks through internet chat rooms and tries to sway public opinion on posts that are contrary in some way to the governmental system. When (she has so many alias' it's hard to remember her name at this point, she eventually becomes known as Agatha) Agatha leaves her reorientation school, after her parents are arrested for being part of the rebel faction trying to shut down the government she and her brother are sent here, and is given a job as an Agitator. It is against everything inside of her, but as she gets promotions and moves up in the world, she starts to lose sight of what she was fighting to stay apart for. When her world comes crashing down it's the rebels that rescue her and she becomes a part of their world - a place she wanted to get to all along!
This is a clean but somewhat disturbing story. Hell is mentioned a couple of times but is descriptive of what they are going through.
January 6, 2020
This is very different from what I usually read. Once I started reading I couldn’t put it down.
August 16, 2016
In this prequel to her Emancipation Warrior series, Marissa Shrock introduces us to one of the significant characters is the series, Agatha Sparks.
When we meet Agatha in this novella, she is still using her real name, Sunshine Hemmerly.
Sunshine lives in a dystopian world following the collapse of the world’s economy and the deterioration of nations and society. Government, society and the economy are now controlled by the elites who permit no dissent. Religion is banned except for a government-authorized edition of the Bible. A small group known as the Emancipation Warriors fights back.
Sunshine’s parents were sent to prison for practicing a banned religion and supporting the warriors. She and her younger brother were sent to a reeducation academy to wash out any remnants of their parents’ rebelliousness.
The story opens when Sunshine turns 18 and ages out of the academy, leaving her brother behind.
She is given a job as an agitator where, using multiple false profiles, she monitors the web to counter wrong opinions, to stimulate public outrage against the Warriors and to reinforce the government’s agenda and spin on events.
She wants to know what happened to her parents and to find a man named Jethro who visited them in the days before their arrest.
She soon draws government scrutiny and the interest of the Warriors. She is put through loyalty tests and quickly faces the dilemma of who to trust.
She is framed by the government for murdering her boss and is rescued by the Warriors and meets Jethro.
She needs Jethro to get her brother out of the academy. Otherwise, the government will hold him over her head to keep her compliant. She is asked by the Warriors to help plant a computer virus that will destroy vital government programs.
Now she faces tough, tough choices. Will she join the warrior cause? If she joins, what dangers will her brother face? What will be her fate if she doesn’t? She is already facing execution for murder.
The author does a great job of establishing the world of her story and of creating a heroine who is vulnerable under her bravery. Sunshine is someone we can identify with a root for. Tension, suspense and mystery are on every page as everybody seems to have a secret agenda and Sunshine has to figure out out who’s on which side, and who can she trust.
The Agitator is an excellent introduction to the larger series and I highly recommend it.
I was given a free copy of the story in exchange for an open and honest review.
When we meet Agatha in this novella, she is still using her real name, Sunshine Hemmerly.
Sunshine lives in a dystopian world following the collapse of the world’s economy and the deterioration of nations and society. Government, society and the economy are now controlled by the elites who permit no dissent. Religion is banned except for a government-authorized edition of the Bible. A small group known as the Emancipation Warriors fights back.
Sunshine’s parents were sent to prison for practicing a banned religion and supporting the warriors. She and her younger brother were sent to a reeducation academy to wash out any remnants of their parents’ rebelliousness.
The story opens when Sunshine turns 18 and ages out of the academy, leaving her brother behind.
She is given a job as an agitator where, using multiple false profiles, she monitors the web to counter wrong opinions, to stimulate public outrage against the Warriors and to reinforce the government’s agenda and spin on events.
She wants to know what happened to her parents and to find a man named Jethro who visited them in the days before their arrest.
She soon draws government scrutiny and the interest of the Warriors. She is put through loyalty tests and quickly faces the dilemma of who to trust.
She is framed by the government for murdering her boss and is rescued by the Warriors and meets Jethro.
She needs Jethro to get her brother out of the academy. Otherwise, the government will hold him over her head to keep her compliant. She is asked by the Warriors to help plant a computer virus that will destroy vital government programs.
Now she faces tough, tough choices. Will she join the warrior cause? If she joins, what dangers will her brother face? What will be her fate if she doesn’t? She is already facing execution for murder.
The author does a great job of establishing the world of her story and of creating a heroine who is vulnerable under her bravery. Sunshine is someone we can identify with a root for. Tension, suspense and mystery are on every page as everybody seems to have a secret agenda and Sunshine has to figure out out who’s on which side, and who can she trust.
The Agitator is an excellent introduction to the larger series and I highly recommend it.
I was given a free copy of the story in exchange for an open and honest review.
September 2, 2016
It is refreshing to dive into young adult science fiction that promotes trust, loyalty, and perseverence. Amidst lies and intrigue, Sunshine is a determined heroine worth cheering for!
I received a free copy of The Agitator in exchange for an honest review.
I received a free copy of The Agitator in exchange for an honest review.
August 1, 2016
The book sucked me in! The characters are real & the plot moves quickly! Sunshine/Agatha is a great role model for anyone who wants to live boldly & stand strong in their Faith!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews