Sixteen-year-old Riley Meemick is one of the world’s last free girls. When Riley was born, her mother escaped the Breeders, the group of doctors using cruel experiments to bolster the dwindling human race. Her parents do everything possible to keep her from their clutches — moving from one desolate farm after another to escape the Breeders’ long reach. The Breeders control everything — the local … local war lords, the remaining factories, the fuel. They have unchecked power in this lawless society. And they’re hunting Riley.
When the local Sheriff abducts the adult members of her family and hands her mother over to the Breeders, Riley and her eight-year-old brother, Ethan, hiding in a shelter, are left to starve. Then Clay arrives, the handsome gunslinger who seems determined to help to make up for past sins. The problem is Clay thinks Riley is a bender — a genderless mutation, neither male nor female. As Riley’s affection for Clay grows she wonders if she can trust Clay with her secret and risk her freedom.
The three embark on a journey across the scarred remains of New Mexico — escaping the Riders who use human sacrifice to appease their Good Mother, various men scrambling for luck, and a deranged lone survivor of a plague. When Riley is forced into the Breeder’s hospital, she learns the horrible fate of her mother — a fate she’ll share unless she can find a way out.
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The breeders are gone and life is looking up.for them.all. Until one fateful day when a plague hits. Her sister and only family gets it so.she will set out to try to find a cure for everyone. Can she find a cure? Will she get in time? What else will she face outside her town?.see if she will find a cure
I received a free copy of this book via …
It was quite good read a whirlwind of events that guarantees excitement. I loved how the characters grew through the story.
An amazing YA dystopia that keeps you at the edge of your seat from beginning to end! Love it!
Oh, what a book! I started reading and couldn’t put it down. Great storytelling and the characters daunting. A very poor family living in the desert was accosted by people wanting to get girls to breed. Riley and Ethan, sister and brother hid when guys came with guns to find any breeders. What happens next is so unbelievable, as the story …
This was interesting, but I almost quit reading about 1/3 through because of the gore, grit, and ugly violence. I initially thought Riley was 13 and was surprised to find she was 16; she seemed/sounded much younger. She makes mistakes, which is great for character development, but then she KEEPS making them—or at least doing very dangerous things …
It was an okay book. I had issues with how travel distances were established and the lack of additional people/bystanders. It seemed like the characters were in a vacuum.
A big scary world can turn out to be smaller then you think. Riley has spent a sheltered life until she decides to go into town looking for a missing family member. Everything changes from there. This is written in a descriptive way to help you envision this world. I had a little difficulty with the drastic difference in the outside vs the …
This book was very hard for me to read. I liked the characters very much. However, the story was just too depressing for me. The poor main character girl, couldn’t stay out of trouble. She would get into one jam, be rescued by her long suffering boyfriend and the very next minute she was in another horrid jam. There wasn’t much in between one …
Fairly good book
I devoured this book! That says a lot for a stay at home mom and author with hardly any reading time on her hands. The premise automatically drew me in as I’m also an anti trafficking advocate with years of involvement in the movement. The backdrop of a dusty desert riddled with road gangs and riders, a gunslinging heartthrob, a corrupt sheriff, …
Not sure I’ll read the rest of the series, but it was a decent read
YA and NA readers who life dystopian fiction will like this title. In a society where males vastly outnumber females, Riley must bind her breasts and appear male lest any of the roving gangs pick her up to make her a sex slave or sell her to the Breeders who are seeking to repopulate the earth. She and her family live a hardscrabble existence …
Definitely not what I thought it would be, but still really good. I was pleasantly surprised.
Can’t wait for book 2
Looking forward to reading the series.
Wonderful
I loved the first book. Want to read the next one someday.
This was a great read. However, the main character is very emotional and rash with her decisions. She is honest with herself and knows that this is one downfall. But loyal to those she loves.
Vivid writing
I liked it enough to buy the next book which for me is unusual! Characters were interesting and kept me reading.