Can she trust anything from the State, including her own feelings for Berk? When she volunteers for a peace mission to New Hope’s violent neighbor, Athens, her confusion mounts as the supposedly ruthless Prince Ale x turns out to be kind and charming. When the citizens of New Hope reveal the truth of what happened years ago, Thalli is left unsettled and skeptical of everything she’s ever been told. As the defectors cross the for gotten landscape, the three youths see things the y had only read about on screens: horses, rain, real books-and a colony of unsanctioned survivors living the ancient way in a town called New Hope. But is she any less of an anomaly aboveground?Īfter escaping an underground annihilation chamber, Thalli, Berk, Rhen, and John find themselves fleeing across the former United States, aboveground for the first time. McGee's simple narrative belies the novel's complexity, a factor that will make this intriguing book accessible to a wide variety of teen readers.Thalli thought escaping to the surface would mean freedom. the first in what has the potential to be a fascinating trilogy of general appeal.

Thalli must sort out what to believe and who to trust, before her time runs out. And the parts of her that she has always guarded could be the answer she's been looking for all along. What's more, the parts of her that have always been an anomaly could in fact be part of a much larger plan. While in the Scientists' Pod, Thalli and Berk form a dangerous alliance, one strictly forbidden by the constant surveillance.Īs her life ticks a way, she hears rumors of someone called the Designer-someone even more powerful than The Ten. The Ten quickly schedule her annihilation, but her childhood friend, Berk-a scientist being groomed by The Ten-convinces them to postpone her death and study her instead. But then her secret is discovered when she's overwhelmed by the emotion of an ancient piece of music.

She has survived so far by hiding her differences.

Thalli is an anomaly, born with the ability to feel emotions and a sense of curiosity she can barely contain. There they created genetically engineered human beings who are free of emotions in the hope that war won't threaten the world again. But life continued deep underground, thanks to a handful of scientists known as The Ten. But she is not afraid.ĭecades before Thalli's birth, the world was decimated by a nuclear war. The toxic gas that will complete her annihilation is invading her bloodstream.

Thalli has fifteen minutes and twenty-three seconds to live.

Luminary krista mcgee