by Erin Bow
First published 2016
Princess Greta Gustafsen Stuart of the Pan-Polar Confederation knows her role at Precept 4. She and the other firstborn children of world leaders serve as hostages, guaranteeing peace under the watchful eye of Talis, the artificial intelligence that ended four centuries of climate disasters and survival wars. The teachers blur the line between human and machine. The rules are absolute. When conflict threatens, the hostages will die first. Greta has accepted this fate and learned to obey with conscience and face death with dignity. Then Elián Palnik arrives from the Cumberland Alliance. The young rebel refuses to follow the established order. His reckless defiance plants seeds of rebellion against Talis's efficient but chilling control. Greta must choose between the stability she has known and the dangerous possibility of freedom.
Genres: science-fiction, dystopia, thriller, young-adult
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: chosen-one, found-family
Setting: Pan-Polar Confederation, Cumberland Alliance
Period: 21st-century
336 pages · Hardcover · Electa