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With postapocalyptic, shattered-utopian flair, Kowallis’s debut dives into a world broken by war, where only a few bastions of humanity are left; unfortunately, they’re in conflict. Reggie is a young woman who remembers nothing of her childhood. She only recalls the 15 years since she arrived at Public One, years during which she was kept prisoner and used for her precognitive abilities. Her visions show a group of outliers, those who live beyond the government, coming to save her. What follows is a complicated odyssey of discovery, setting up a rich and varied world for further exploration. Multiple perspectives make an interesting, albeit occasionally confusing, tapestry, with hints of romance peeking through the arid wasteland of honest intent turned to evil. Kowallis doesn’t shy away from difficult scenes, but the overreliance on action and the characters’ uncertainty in order to move the plot comes across as a bit overwrought. However, the well-written glimpses into character motivation tend to act as a balance. [em](BookLife) [/em]