by Ann Aguirre
Part of Razorland
First published 2012
Thimble has spent her whole life as a Builder, fixing what breaks in the tunnels. Stone has spent his as a Breeder, producing the next generation. Neither chose those roles, and neither expected to run. When rebellion tears their underground settlement apart, Thimble and Stone grab Stone's young son and move. The tunnels offer no safety. Freaks, creatures that hunt and eat human flesh, patrol the passages. Going topside is supposed to be suicide. Every story passed down says the light burns skin from bone and the water does the same. They go anyway. What they find above ground is nothing like the stories: canned food stacked on shelves, furniture no one has claimed, books no one has read. For the first time, the rules that governed every hour of their lives do not apply. That freedom costs something. Without the structure of their old world, Thimble and Stone have to face what they have been refusing to name for years, an attraction that was forbidden before and is complicated now. Danger is still close. The feeling between them is closer.
Genres: fiction, science-fiction, dystopia, romance, adventure, post-apocalyptic
Vibes: dark, fast-paced, gritty, intimate, suspenseful
Tropes: forbidden-romance, forced-proximity, found-family, slow-burn
Setting: tunnels, underground settlement, topside
73 pages · ebook · Feiwel & Friends
Content warnings: death, violence