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What If?
Go Back follows a tech journalist whose life is upended when she finds herself involved in a web of corruption and underground resistance. Where did the idea for this novel come from?
I thought about tech addiction and how reliant society has become on it, especially digital natives. Then I asked myself, what would happen if that technology was taken away suddenly? How would people contact anyone? Not many people memorize phone numbers. Also, many people are reliant on GPS to get around. Go Back is a sort of extreme luddite group that appeals to people’s fears of tech addiction and wanting to “detox” from it. The movement’s propaganda convinces even the president that the Centers are the only way to rid society of this horrible addiction that leads to family separation and mental health issues. Of course the movement also has other, more sinister plans as well.
What draws you to the dystopian fiction genre?
I often ask myself “what if?” or “what would people do if X happened?” I like to explore the future and what people would do if their world turned upside down. I’d like to think that my dystopia has a bit of hope in it as well.
What was the inspiration for Sarah Grimes’ traits and dialogue?
Sarah is based on some real people in my life. I was a young journalist at one time wanting to get that BIG story. That’s what she wants too. She wants to make a name for herself. Be careful what you wish for! Her character arc is compelling because, even though she is unsure of herself, her ambition and circumstances propels her to become a leader.
What is the next book you are working on, and when will it be available?
Right now I’m wrapping up a short story. My next book is a far future dystopia. It’s about the aftermath of a cataclysmic event that happens in the U.S. and how people cope with the aftermath. It is still a work in progress.
After journalist Sarah Grimes finally lands the lead story, her life turns upside down. Sure, she exposed the Go Back movement’s evil plan to take everyone’s tech and pocket all the profit, but that also landed her in a digital detox center, otherwise known as the Center for Behavioral Recognition.
Inside, she finds a man named Chris she met before the roundup. She wants to escape with him, but he disappears and she keeps getting drugged. Thankfully, she teams up with an unlikely ally to escape.
As they all make their way to the headquarters of the resistance, they have to decide how much they’re willing to sacrifice for their tech.
Go Back
Emily Wagner’s Go Back is a harrowing and emotionally raw dystopian novel that unfolds in a near-future America where the government, in partnership with an anti-tech movement known as Go Back (GB), launches a sweeping crackdown on technology under the guise of public safety and mental health. The story follows Sarah Grimes, a reluctant tech journalist turned whistleblower, whose life is upended when she becomes entangled in a web of corruption, coercion, and underground resistance. With alternating perspectives and gripping prose, Wagner exposes the consequences of blindly trading freedom for a false sense of order.
The writing is intimate and electric. Wagner has a way of pulling you in and making you feel every drop of fear, anger, and hope. Her characters, especially Sarah and Olivia, are vivid and fully human, both strong and vulnerable in a world that punishes both. The world-building was solid. It’s familiar enough to be plausible, but jarring in how quickly things spiral. I especially loved the way Wagner slowly peels back the layers of the GB movement. It doesn’t hit you all at once. It sneaks up, just like the movement does in the story. The slow burn is terrifying because it feels real.
Some of the plot developments were so twisted and bleak that I had to put the book down and catch my breath. There’s a sense of hopelessness that creeps in by design, but I wish there were a few more glimmers of resistance that actually gained ground. Even when characters fight back, they seem to get swallowed by the system. Maybe that’s the point, though. Wagner doesn’t sugarcoat the fight for truth or justice. It’s ugly, it’s thankless, and sometimes, it’s fatal. But there’s beauty in the way her characters cling to humanity, even when it’s stripped from them.
Go Back is not just a story about tech or politics; it’s about control, freedom, and the price of silence. This book is for readers who love thought-provoking and emotionally intense dystopias like The Handmaid’s Tale or 1984. If you’ve ever wondered how much you’d be willing to sacrifice for the illusion of safety or how quickly a society can be undone, this one will resonate with you.
Pages: 284 | ISBN : 978-1967547166
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