Biochemistry whiz Everly Jax wants one thing: to know who her parents are. Raised with other repo kids in InKubator 9, she has pinned her hopes on Reunion Day, the annual event where 16-year-olds can meet or reunite with their parents. When her Reunion Day goes horribly awry, she and her pregnant friend Halla escape the Kube, accompanied by their friend Wyck who has his own reasons for leaving.
In a world where rebuilding the population is critical to national survival, the Pragmatist government licenses all human reproduction, and decides who can – and must – have babies. The trio face feral dog packs, swamp threats, locust swarms, bounty hunters looking for “breeders”, and more dangers as they race to Amerada’s capital to find Halla’s soldier boyfriend before the Prags can repo her baby and force the girls into surrogacy service.
An unexpected encounter with Bulrush, an Underground Railroad for women fleeing to Outposts with their unlicensed babies, puts them in greater peril than ever. Everly must decide what she is willing to sacrifice to learn her biological identity – and deal with the unanticipated consequences of her decisions.
Mostly interesting. A bit too reliable with where it went. A few surprises, but…I do like that Everly isn’t a helpless victim. A few editing errors, but overall, okay.
Compelling story Instead of a superhero-type teen, the lead character is a nerd, a biochemist who never questions authority. I recommend this author and can’t wait to read more of her work.
Can it really happen? A dystopian future?? Is that what our world is headed towards? A future that is grim and unbelievable – a world that convinces young women of childbearing age that it is for the good of their country they volunteer to be surrogate mothers and men are conscripted into military service without any chance to choose a better life for themselves. Forced to live in a tower with other undesirable offspring it is no wonder that they seek to leave on a mission that puts their lives in jeopardy! Seeking…