4.5 stars for The best YA dystopian I've read in years.

The Hunger Games meets Avatar.

The world is divided into two livable over-populated sections. This first book focuses on the section called Triton which itself has two levels. The wealthy live in the upper levels and the poor live in the factory ridden lower levels. Milla, our heroine, is a lower level "stinker". A wild twist of fate along with some quick thinking and scrambling gives her an unheard of opportunity to enter an upper level contest with a 1st prize of five million credits.

I love the way Milla is presented to us. She is not some badass courageous beautiful character who steamrolls her way to fame and fortune. Instead, Milla is scared, worried, almost hopeless and just desperate enough to find the strength she needs to take a wild risk. There isn't anything beautiful about her other than maybe her soul.

The world building is done so well that you don't even notice it. You're exposed little by little to this futuristic dystopian society through Milla's hardships. The focus in this first book is wholly on her so that you don't realize how immersed you are in her world until the story is over and you have this perfect picture of the world she lives in.

I urge you to come see for yourself this world full of amazing technology including real life avatars, handheld devices controlled by thought alone and wristbands that wholly identify each person. You'll be treated to action, suspense, and a heart stopping physical contest that may determine the fate of this wild and weird world.


Review ARC graciously provided by the publisher via NetGalley