The story: Aya has lived in the wild all her life, avoiding the ugly reality that comes to girls who are caught and taken into towns to be sold to the highest bidder. But now that the Trackers have managed to capture her, she's determined she won't go down without a fight. Held in solitary confinement until the next auction day, little does Aya know that the mute Driver, or horse master, across the poisoned drainage ditch--along with a silver wolf named Brax--will end up being her only hope of avoiding a fate worse that death.
June Cleaver's ratings: Language PG; Violence R; Sexual content PG-13; Nudity R; Substance abuse PG; magic & the occult G; GLBT content G; adult themes (slavery, prostitution) PG-13; overall rating PG-13. (According to June's matrix, the violence and nudity contents deserve an "R" rating, but since neither is in any way graphically described, I think the whole outing still comes in as a PG-13, for 8th-up.)
Liz's comments: As I did with Joelle Charbonneau's "The Testing", I have to admit that I'm getting a little burned out on dystopian fiction, especially when it's so durn grim (as this one is). That said, Aya is a spunky heroine, Kiran is a hunky and mysterious hottie and co-conspirator, and Brax is as cool an animal companion as they come. The setting--where women have gone back to being chattel and some even take part in the buying and selling of others--is gritty, although grit can't substitute for actual world building, which is a bit skimpy in this story. Anyway, it's fine for readers looking for their next Hunger Games read-alike, and thankfully, it appears to be a stand-alone book and not a trilogy! (Practically a miracle.)
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