First published 2004
Jackal once held promise as a Hope child, but now she faces conviction for a crime she never committed. The court sentences her to solitary confinement, a punishment that breaks down her sense of self and reality. After serving her brutal sentence, authorities abandon her in an unfamiliar country where she must rebuild her life from nothing. She encounters others who share her background and circumstances. These fellow outcasts become her guides as she navigates this strange new world. Together they help her uncover the real reasons behind her imprisonment. Jackal discovers that her conviction was part of something larger and more deliberate than random injustice. The truth about why she was targeted and cast out reveals the darker mechanisms of the system that once elevated her as a Hope child. Her journey becomes one of reclaiming her identity and understanding her place in a world that first celebrated then destroyed her.
Genres: science-fiction, dystopia, thriller, social-issues
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: Hope, Unfamiliar Country
Period: Present Day
368 pages · Paperback · Eos
Content warnings: abuse, mental-illness