Way Down Dark

After the Earth became uninhabitable, humans built generation ships as quickly as possible, packed them with as many people as they could, and sent them into space to look for a new home. This is the story that 17-year-old Chan has been told about her home, the Australia, her entire life%E2%80%94a desperate but hopeful scenario that sets the tone for adult author Smythe's (The Echo) trilogy opener and first foray into teen fiction. The Australia is dilapidated, and gangs have sprung up to control sections of it. Chan and her mother are part of the Free People, unaffiliated with gangs and trying to survive with what little humanity they can. The book opens with Chan's mother dying after doing everything she can to give her daughter the tools to continue on without her. When one of the gangs, the Lows, essentially declares war on the rest of the ship, Chan's mission becomes even more difficult. There's an overreliance on graphic brutality and narrative twists, but readers will want to see where Chan's grim story goes next. Ages 13%E2%80%93up. Agent: Sam Copeland, Rogers, Coleridge & White. (Oct.)