by S. B. Divya
First published 2016
Marmeg Guinto stares at the starting line of the Minerva Sierra Challenge. Around her, wealthy competitors show off corporate logos and gleaming augmentations. She checks her own equipment one more time. Every piece came from garbage bins in rich neighborhoods. The entry fee ate up her nursing school fund, money her mother had saved for years. The race stretches across the Sierra Nevada mountains in a single brutal day. Corporate teams have support crews and cutting edge exoskeletons. Marmeg has what she built in her garage and the desperate need to win. Prize money could change everything for her family. Her younger brothers could escape the same dead end future that traps everyone in their neighborhood. The other racers see her homemade gear and dismiss her chances. They don't know how far determination can carry someone who has nothing left to lose. Marmeg knows this race represents her only shot at lifting her family out of poverty.
Genres: science-fiction, adventure, contemporary, action
Vibes: emotional, fast-paced, thought-provoking
Tropes: determined-underdog, found-family, rags-to-riches
Setting: Sierra Nevada, United States
Period: 21st-century
118 pages · Kindle Edition · Tor.com