Dove Arising by Karen Bao - ADVISABLE

Bao, Karen Dove Arising, 324 p. Viking (Penguin), 2015.  $18.  Language: PG (10 swears, 0 ‘f’); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG-13 (bloody fights).

Phaet’s life is quickly falling apart.  Her father is dead and her mother has just been arrested by the lunar colony authorities.   In order to save herself and her siblings from life on the fringes in Shelter, she is forced to make a desperate decision – enlist in the Militia.  If she comes out of training with a high enough score, she can care for her siblings and pay for her mother’s release.  Of course, she will have to handle the brutality and sabotage of the other recruits, including the hulking brute who is the son of the current Militia head.  Even if she manages to survive training, can she survive the betrayals of two people close to her ? 

Bao has created a complicated book that will leave you breathless.  As if just surviving the Militia weren’t enough, two other major turns add more complications and turn this into an obvious sequel, though I have no clue where the series is heading.  Phaet also has a romantic interest, which is thankfully under played until the betrayal.  

MS – OPTIONAL; HS – ADVISABLE.  Cindy, Library Teacher