Valedictorian: An Origin Story

THE FORMULA IS ALWAYS THE SAME …

1. Tragic Backstory
2. Accidental Power
3. Symbolic Costume
4. Moral Test
5. Transformation

… THE OUTCOME IS NOT.

High schooler Jack Shaw never asked for greatness.
He never asked for his uncle’s comic book collection.
He never asked for the stories—or their rules—to bleed into his life and test him in ways he never imagined.

No … he never asked for any of it.

But now—it’s asking everything of him.

Written as a modern counterpart to Lord of the Flies, Valedictorian: An Origin Story intentionally engages with Golding's classic, weaving its themes, questions, and references into the fabric of the story—offering readers a fresh lens through which to examine a literary staple.