YA Novel-Resistance During the Armenian Genocide

July 8 6:00 PM

Chaucer's Books (3321 State Street) hosts N.T. McQueen for a book talk and signing of his novel Never Hide From the Devil.

Description

The government wants them dead. Fourteen-year-old Suren Simonian lives a familiar boyhood in the Armenian city of Van in eastern Anatolia ― attending school, watching fistfights, and trying to stay out of the way of Turkish gendarmes. His closest companion is Hamza, his Turkish best friend, and most days feel ordinary enough.

But in the spring of 1915, rumors of massacres sweep through the region. Soon, Turkish troops surround Van with a single objective: the extermination of its Armenian population. As violence closes in, Suren is forced to confront the meaning of loyalty, courage, and manhood in a world that has turned deadly overnight.

Inspired by a true story of resistance during the Armenian Genocide, Never Hide from the Devil is a powerful coming-of-age novel about friendship, survival, and impossible moral choices in the face of unimaginable horror.

About the Author

N.T. McQueen is an avid writer and dedicated college lecturer. With a master’s degree in fiction from California State University, Sacramento, McQueen has brought unique perspectives on human nature to readers in his captivating novels Never Hide from the Devil (Cennan, 2026), The Cry of Dry Bones (2021), and Between Lions and Lambs (2011). His writing has been featured in North American Review, Stonecoast Review, Entropy, Sunlight Press, Atticus Review, Dappled Things, Grief Digest Magazine, and Foreword Magazine. He lives in California with his wife and daughters and enjoys fishing, traveling, and a tasty cup of coffee.

Praise for the Book

"Heart-wrenching, thought-provoking, and painfully timely." ―Kirkus Reviews (STARRED review)

"A gripping tale of love and survival." ―Foreword Reviews (STARRED review)

"A jagged piece of shrapnel from 1915 Van, pulsing with the frantic, localized energy of a city under siege." ―The Armenian Weekly