The Forsaken: The Forsaken Trilogy by Lisa M. Stasse (English) Hardcover Book

Description: The Forsaken by Lisa M. Stasse After the formation of the United Northern Alliance--a merger of Canada, the United States, and Mexico into one nation--16-year-old Alenna is sent to an desolate prison island for teenagers believed to be predisposed to violence. FORMAT Hardcover LANGUAGE English CONDITION Brand New Publisher Description A thought-provoking and exciting start to a riveting new dystopian trilogy. As an obedient orphan of the U.N.A. (the super-country that was once Mexico, the U.S., and Canada), Alenna learned at an early age to blend in and be quiet--having your parents taken by the police will do that to a girl. But Alenna cant help but stand out when she fails a test that all sixteen-year-olds have to take: The test says she has a high capacity for brutal violence, and so she is sent to The Wheel, an island where all would-be criminals end up. The life expectancy of prisoners on The Wheel is just two years, but with dirty, violent, and chaotic conditions, the time seems a lot longer as Alenna is forced to deal with civil wars for land ownership and machines that snatch kids out of their makeshift homes. Desperate, she and the other prisoners concoct a potentially fatal plan to flee the island. Survival may seem impossible, but Alenna is determined to achieve it anyway. Author Biography Lisa M. Stasse is a digital librarian at UCLA. The Forsaken is her first novel. Review The Forsaken presents a classic dystopian theme, with a corrupt government becoming overpowering and tyrannical, with the twist of science-fiction robotics and genetic manufacturing... Stasse has brilliantly combined two popular teen genres into a world of action and suspense that most teen readers will not want to put down.--Blake Norby "VOYA" Review Quote "The Forsaken presents a classic dystopian theme, with a corrupt government becoming overpowering and tyrannical, with the twist of science-fiction robotics and genetic manufacturing... Stasse has brilliantly combined two popular teen genres into a world of action and suspense that most teen readers will not want to put down." Excerpt from Book The Forsaken 1THE UNITED NORTHERN ALLIANCE SIX YEARS LATER AS OUR BUS APPROACHES the Harka Museum of Re-education, I peer out the window at the soldiers standing out front in the sculpture gardens. The sculptures are just broken remnants, long ago smashed under combat boots. The flagpole flies our nations flag, an eye hovering over a globe branded with the letters UNA, the abbreviation used by everyone for the United Northern Alliance. The driver parks on a circular driveway in front of the museums entrance, and I look up. Marble columns sweep fifty feet toward a pediment that still bears old scars from rebel mortar attacks. Theres only one day left until Im forced to take the Government Personality Profile Test--GPPT for short--which is why our class is on this field trip. The trip is meant to show us what happens to kids who fail the test. A heavyset woman in a gray uniform stands up near the front of the bus as the door opens. Its Ms. Baines, our Social Reconstruction teacher. She ushers our class out of the vehicle and into the hot sun. We stand on the asphalt, a diverse throng of kids. Everyone, rich or poor, orphan or not, goes through the same public school system in the UNA. "This way, class," Ms. Baines orders. We follow her up a wide stone staircase, toward the massive front door of the museum that beckons like a hungry mouth. Inside, its dark and cool. The Harka Museum once held some of our states greatest works of art. Now, like most museums, its a shrine to our government and its leader, Minister Roland Harka. Instead of paintings, the walls display digital maps of the United Northern Alliances global conquests. Armies are rendered as colorful dots, and battles as pixelated cubes. Being in this museum makes me think about our nations complicated history. At sixteen, Im too young to remember what a real museum was even like. I only remember reading about them, before most books and digital media were withdrawn from circulation. That happened when I was eight, two years before my parents got taken, and just three years after the formation of the United Northern Alliance--a merger of Canada, the United States, and Mexico into one vast, chaotic nation. From what my mom and dad told me, the citizens of those countries werent in favor of the alliance. But food was scarce after a global economic meltdown, and people were turning to violent crime. So the government leaders made the radical decision to create the UNA. When angry citizens rebelled, military police used lethal force to stop the demonstrations. The demonstrations turned into riots, and then into total anarchy as people turned against their own government. Every week our building would shake as a car bomb detonated somewhere, and Id often fall asleep at night listening to the crack of gunfire. That was when Roland Harka, a charismatic four-star general, took office by force and appointed himself prime minster of the UNA. For life. After that, everything changed. Minister Harka united the military by rewarding those who joined him with bribes, and imprisoning anyone who disobeyed. He imposed savage penalties for breaking laws and snatched away the freedoms everyone took for granted. All communication was restricted: no more cell phones, personal computers, or Internet access. Anything that could encourage subversion of the government, or simply draw a crowd--like religious gatherings--was outright banned. Then the nations borders were permanently closed. According to Minister Harka, the entire country had to be united in isolation to achieve safety and prosperity. He also mandated that all scientists immediately put their knowledge to use for the benefit of the government. For Minister Harka, technological supremacy became the key to conquering the globe, amassing plundered resources from other nations, and maintaining order at home. "Move it, Alenna!" Ms. Baines suddenly snaps, breaking my reverie and shooing me along a corridor. Im lagging behind my classmates. Were heading toward a large display screen, thirty by fifty feet, hanging on a stone wall in the main gallery. This screen is the centerpiece of every Harka Museum. When I reach it, I jostle for position, looking up at the live digital feed. There is a name for the place that were watching--Prison Island Alpha--but nobody dares say it out loud for fear it might jinx them. Some call it the Land Across the Water, or the Land Beyond. To others it is simply the Forgotten Place. I stare in fascination at the footage of stunted trees and verdant plains now flickering in front of me. The kids who get sent to this island are the ones who fail the GPPT, a test that predicts a propensity for criminal activity years in advance. Its administered to all high school students during the fall of their junior year, and can identify potential murderers, rapists, thieves, and psychopaths before they act on their impulses. Because of this test, crime has virtually been eliminated in the UNA. The test isnt something you can study for. Its not even a test in the normal sense. No one asks you any questions. Instead a serum gets injected into your veins, and then computers scan your brain, looking for abnormalities. The kids who are found to have aberrant personalities--ones that will lead them toward a life of crime and violence--are labeled "Unanchored Souls" by the government and shipped to the desolate prison island. I continue to stare at the digital window into this harsh world, waiting for something to happen. On the grassy plain, between rows of crooked palm trees, stand the ruins of gigantic concrete buildings. Behind them is a massive stone spiral staircase, leading up into gray clouds that hang above the landscape. A balding museum docent steps forward, speaking into a microphone. His reedy voice crackles to life in our government earpieces, the ones we have to wear each day from sunrise to sunset in our left ears. Sometimes the earpieces play classical music--like Wagner and Bruckner--other times, recordings of patriotic speeches delivered by Minister Harka. We cant control the earpieces, so Ive learned to ignore mine. But today Im listening. I want to hear what the docent has to say. "When Prison Island Alpha was first populated, more than two thousand video cameras were placed inside. We thought that the island would develop its own civilization--like penal colonies have in the past. Most notably Australia in the 1800s." The docent pauses. "Yet this never happened on Island Alpha. Instead, the savages who call it home destroyed most of our cameras. Only a few cameras remain, hidden in trees. We now rely on satellite imagery as our primary--" "Cant you drop more cameras in there?" a boy interrupts. The docent shakes his head. "The inmates use the raw materials for weapons." "Doesnt the island get overcrowded?" another classmate asks. Its Melissa OConnor, a brunette with perfect hair and teeth, courtesy of her wealthy parents. The docent looks over at her. He has probably fielded a million random questions from students like us. I wish I could come up with one hes never heard before, just to stump him. "Overpopulations not an issue," he explains, "because life expectancy on Island Alpha is only eighteen years of age." The crowd burbles. Eighteen. I turn that number over in my mind. I wonder what it would feel like to have only two more years to live. My chest tightens. I havent done any of the things I want to do with my life yet. I want to travel, but because of all the restrictions, I havent left New Providence in years. And I want to write music. Ive been playing guitar since my dad started teaching me when I was six, and the guitar was bigger than me, but Ive never played in public, only at home. And I havent even gone out on a date with a boy yet, let alone kissed one. For a sixteen-year-old, thats pretty pathetic. I realize for the first time what being sent to the island really means--the total annihilation of hope. I peer back up at the image on the screen. I dont see a single person. Just the desolate landscape, rotting under the sun. I wonder if the inhabitants are hiding. "Can the prisoners escape?" a nearby girl asks the docent, sounding worried. "Build a boat and sail it back here?" "Sometimes they try, but they always fail." "What a bunch of losers," Melissa mutters. Her friends titter, but not me. I guess I just feel bad for any kid who gets sent to this place, even if I know they deserve it. Maybe its because of what happened to my parents. They never even received a trial. They just vanished. My dad had been a philosophy professor, and my mom had been a genetic engineer. At least before all the research facilities and universities were placed under government control. My mom quit her job because she said the UNA just wanted to use her research to develop biological weapons. I never found out exactly why both my parents got seized when they did, although I assume it was partly because of my moms refusal to cooperate. I was told their old jobs had just been covers anyway, and that theyd been plotting to form a terrorist cell and assassinate government leaders. Details ISBN1442432659 Author Lisa M. Stasse Short Title FORSAKEN Language English ISBN-10 1442432659 ISBN-13 9781442432659 Media Book Format Hardcover DEWEY FIC Audience Age 12-17 Year 2012 Publication Date 2012-07-10 Series Forsaken - Trilogy Country of Publication United States AU Release Date 2012-07-10 NZ Release Date 2012-07-10 US Release Date 2012-07-10 UK Release Date 2012-07-10 Subtitle The Forsaken Trilogy Pages 384 Publisher Simon & Schuster Imprint Simon & Schuster Audience Teenage / Young adult We've got this At The Nile, if you're looking for it, we've got it. With fast shipping, low prices, friendly service and well over a million items - you're bound to find what you want, at a price you'll love! TheNile_Item_ID:137978904;

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