The Ward

In this gritty, post-apocalyptic debut novel, 16-year-old Ren%E2%80%94a tough orphan surviving in a Manhattan transformed virtually beyond recognition by global warming, floodwaters, and the Blight (a deadly illness)%E2%80%94will do almost anything to support herself and her dying friend, Aven. To the bitter frustration of Ren's male rivals, she's made herself into the best and most daring "mobile" racer in the city while simultaneously working undercover for the hated Governor Voss and his vicious police force, spearheading their desperate search for fresh water. As the Blight worsens, affecting even the better parts of the city, Ren discovers that Voss is not simply looking for clean water. Somewhere beneath the flooded city lurks a miraculous cure for the Blight, "magic in a bottle... or the devil in a bottle," and the governor apparently wants it all for himself. Ren is volatile, embittered, and dedicated to the adrenaline surge of racing, but she's also gutsy, loyal, and at times surprisingly vulnerable. Frankel's unforgiving, drowned New York serves as a formidable background for her survival story, the first in a planned series. Ages 13%E2%80%93up. Agent: Ginger Clark, Curtis Brown. (Apr.)