"What if Safety is a Cage?" Jess Lourey Discusses 'The Verdant Cage' Ahead of April Event

DECORAH, Iowa — Author Jess Lourey will visit Dragonfly Books for a meet-and-greet and book signing from 3 to 5 p.m. Thursday, April 9, celebrating her new young adult dystopian thriller, The Verdant Cage. The free event, sponsored by the Oneota Valley Literary Foundation with support from Dragonfly Books, is open to the public and part of an ongoing series bringing authors to northeast Iowa. Set in a tightly controlled community surrounded by a mysterious wall, The Verdant Cage explores questions of trust, authority, and the stories societies tell themselves. In a conversation with DecorahNews.com, Lourey discussed the novel's origins, the resurgence of dystopian fiction, and what she hopes readers take away. Q: For readers who haven't heard about The Verdant Cage yet, how would you describe the story and the world it takes place in? Lourey: "The Verdant Cage is set in Noah's Valley, a seemingly idyllic community in southeastern Minnesota that has survived for generations inside an enormous Wall. The people believe the Wall protects them from deadly beasts and chaos beyond its borders, and their lives are tightly structured around the 38 Houses that organize the society. The story follows Rose Allgood, a teenage Apothecary whose life begins to unravel when her mother is murdered and her twin brother is framed for the crime. As Rose searches for the truth, she discovers that Noah's Valley may be built on lies, and that the real danger might not be outside the Wall at all." Q: What first sparked the idea for this novel? Was there a moment or a question that started it all? Lourey: "The idea started with a simple question: What if the social structure everyone believes is necessary and protective is actually a cage? I was fascinated by how communities create stories around safety, order, and who gets to 'belong.' From there, Noah's Valley and the Wall emerged, along with a heroine who begins to question everything she's been taught to believe." Q: You've mentioned renewed interest in dystopian fiction. Why do you think the genre is resonating with readers again right now? Lourey: "I think a lot of readers, young ones especially, are watching institutions they were told to trust behave in ways that feel deeply wrong, and they're looking for stories that validate that instinct. When the real world feels uncertain or overwhelming, stories about flawed systems and people who challenge them can be incredibly cathartic." Q: What real-world events influenced the themes of the book? Lourey: "Watching how quickly false narratives can shape our beliefs, and how hard it can be to challenge those false narratives, definitely influenced the story, and you can see it in how the book explores misinformation, authoritarian control, and the ways fear can be grown and harvested to keep people obedient. The novel also touches on questions about resource scarcity, environmental collapse, and what, as well as who, communities are willing to sacrifice in the name of survival." Q: You grew up in the Midwest. How did that background shape this story? Lourey: "Growing up in the Midwest gave me a deep appreciation for close-knit communities, shared responsibility, and the rhythms of agricultural life. The citizens of Noah's Valley are working together, depending on each other, and structuring their life around the land. But the Midwest also taught me that alongside great kindness comes a great pressure to conform and to bear injustices silently so as not to upset the apple cart. That tension is a big part of the story. As a fun side note, I was a huge fan of Little House on the Prairie growing up, and I was also raised in a family where we processed much of our own food, which included gardening, canning, and butchering. I was thrilled to include what I learned from both experiences in the book." Q: What did you find most challenging about writing this book? Lourey: "Worldbuilding was both the most exciting and the most challenging part. I had to create a society with its own rules, rituals, Houses, and belief systems while still making it feel believable and lived-in. I also wanted the mystery elements, what really happened to Rose's family and what's truly outside the Wall, to unfold at the right pace so readers keep discovering new layers alongside her." Q: Having won major awards like the International Thriller Award and the Minnesota Book Award, does that change how you approach new projects? Lourey: "Primarily, the awards confirm that the risk was worth it. Each book feels like a gamble no matter how many you've written. You're spending up to a year creating something that might not work, in a voice that might not land, with a structure that might collapse under its own weight. Awards have given me the confidence to trust my instincts, and for that, I'm deeply grateful." Q: You've written across several genres. What drew you specifically to YA dystopian for this project? Lourey: "YA dystopian felt like the perfect fit for this story because the genre naturally centers young people confronting systems they didn't create but have to live inside. Plus, teen readers haven't yet numbed themselves to injustice the way adults sometimes do. They feel it acutely, which makes for powerful storytelling. Finally, I absolutely love to read dystopian YA, and my fave authors aren't writing fast enough (looking at you Sabaa Tahir, Kim Liggett, and Suzanne Collins), so I was compelled to write one while I wait." Q: When teen readers (or readers of any age!) finish The Verdant Cage, what do you hope they're thinking about or questioning? Lourey: "I hope readers walk away asking themselves a few questions: Who decides what's true? What do we owe our communities, and what do we owe ourselves? And maybe most importantly, what happens when the systems designed to protect us start demanding too high a price? I also hope they're thinking about Rose's initial small acts of resistance, the medicine she smuggles, the thorn she removes from a child's palm, the truth she refuses to stop believing even when everything tells her to let it go. Big change usually starts there, with someone deciding, quietly, that they won't participate in a small cruelty today." Q: Your work has reached more than a million readers. How has your relationship with readers changed over time? Lourey: "It's become less abstract and more personal, which is both more wonderful and more terrifying. In the early days, I wrote into the void and hoped. Now I hear from people who say a specific book made them see something in a new light or helped them through a difficult spell. That changes how I write. I want every book to be worth the hours someone gave it." Q: What do you enjoy most about meeting readers at events like the upcoming book signing? Lourey: "The surprise of it. You write alone, and then the book goes out, and you genuinely don't know who it finds or what it means to them. At events, that becomes visible. Someone will tell you they drove two hours, or that they'd been waiting for this book specifically, or that a character reminded them of their grandmother. That's the beauty of fiction: it creates human connections. Getting to witness that in person is a privilege I never take for granted. Plus, who doesn't love being in a room full of readers, hosted by a bookstore that is both an anchor and a sail in their community?" Q: What are you reading right now? Lourey: "I've been rereading Silvia Moreno-Garcia because I think she's one of the best writers working in genre fiction today. She refuses to be predictable and every book she writes feels urgent. I've also been working through some older Simone St. James because the atmospheric, Gothic dread she builds is something I aspire to. And I have a true crime on the nightstand, because some habits die hard." Q: What's next for you after The Verdant Cage? Lourey: "I'm thrilled to be working on The Violet Maze, book two in the Verdant trilogy. I can't wait to share it with readers! It picks up right where The Verdant Cage left off." Lourey is an Amazon Charts bestselling and Edgar Award-nominated author who has written nonfiction, children's books, young adult fiction, magical realism and crime fiction. A retired professor of writing and sociology, she lives in Minneapolis. More information on Jess Lourey at jessicalourey.com.