Natalie C. Anderson’s YA debut novel CITY OF SAINTS & THIEVES has been optioned by Universal Pictures.

City of Saints & Thieves is Natalie C. Anderson‘s debut young adult novel and was just released earlier this year. And though it hasn’t even been out for a month, the book has been optioned for film by Universal Pictures. Scandal‘s Kerry Washington is in talks to co-produce the film through her production company Simpson Street, alongside Will Packer and Will Packer Productions.

The story is about a young girl who’s had to survive on her own on streets of Kenya after her mother’s murder. When she takes on a theft job through a local gang, the Goondas, she seeks to take vengeance for her mother’s death.

According to Deadline, Universal is spearheading the project and is currently in the process of seeking Insecure‘s Melina Matsoukas to direct the film. Aside from the HBO series, Matsoukas has directed Beyonce’s “Formation” and “Pretty Hurts” videos, and Rihanna’s “We Found Love.”

Kerry Washington can currently be seen on as Olivia Pope on ABC’s Scandal, for which she was nominated for in both the Golden Globes and the Emmys, as well as for her role as Anita Hill on HBO’s TV-movie Confirmation.

Among Will Packer’s list of credits are the 2016 TV mini-series Roots, and the 2016 movie Straight Outta Compton, for which he both worked as executive producer.

In the shadows of Sangui City, there lives a girl who doesn’t exist. After fleeing the Congo as refugees, Tina and her mother arrived in Kenya looking for the chance to build a new life and home. Her mother quickly found work as a maid for a prominent family, headed by Roland Greyhill, one of the city’s most respected business leaders. But Tina soon learns that the Greyhill fortune was made from a life of corruption and crime. So when her mother is found shot to death in Mr. Greyhill’s personal study, she knows exactly who’s behind it.

With revenge always on her mind, Tina spends the next four years surviving on the streets alone, working as a master thief for the Goondas, Sangui City’s local gang. It’s a job for the Goondas that finally brings Tina back to the Greyhill estate, giving her the chance for vengeance she’s been waiting for. But as soon as she steps inside the lavish home, she’s overtaken by the pain of old wounds and the pull of past friendships, setting into motion a dangerous cascade of events that could, at any moment, cost Tina her life. But finally uncovering the incredible truth about who killed her mother—and why—keeps her holding on in this fast-paced nail-biting thriller.

Natalie will be going on Penguin Teen Spring Book Tour with several other authors, and you can check out their schedule here.

Or you can order a copy of the City of Saints & Thieves now.

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