Pawn

Carter (the Goddess Test series) tries her hand at near-future dystopia, with mixed results. The economy has collapsed, and resources have run out—that’s as much world-building as Carter does, so it’s hard to see how or why the United States has willingly and rapidly transformed from prosperous democracy to micromanaged dictatorship. Kitty, raised in a state-mandated group home, is in love with her boyfriend, Benjy, but her test results show she’s a low achiever, and the 17-year-old is assigned a sewer-maintenance job in faraway Denver. While they wait for Benjy to be tested, Kitty runs away to become a prostitute, only to have her virginity bought by the most powerful man in the country, Prime Minister Daxton Hart. It’s not sex he’s after, though: he wants Kitty to impersonate his dead niece. Why, and at what price, Kitty can only guess. The romance is anemic, with Benjy barely mentioned for chapters at a time. Though well-paced and readable, as Carter’s prose normally is, the absence of credible setting or emotion makes this an underwhelming read. Ages 14–up. Agent: Rosemary Stimola, Stimola Literary Studio. (Nov.)■