Kitty is having the worst day of her life to date. She's taken the adulthood test aged seventeen and been graded only a III which condemns her to a life of menial work and poverty, just a PAWN of the rulers. She wasn't allowed extra time because reading is difficult for her. Her boyfriend Benjy will take the test soon and is surely destined to be a VI. But he promises that he loves her and wants to marry her, despite the new brand on her neck.

This young adult book throws many challenges at the characters. Kitty, who was taken from her parents because she was a second child and they were only allowed one, is going to be transferred to Denver, halfway across the country, for work. She may never see Benjy again. Their house mother Nina, a placid VI lady, tells her to try for better. Try for change. Such talk could get them jailed or killed. The Hart family control everything and disloyalty costs lives. Kitty throws in her lot with a call-girl named Tabs, rather than leave, but when her virtue is being auctioned the highest bidder instead makes her an offer she can't refuse. How could young Kitty know of the dangers that would result?

PAWN is not for the tender, as the ruling family, supposedly elected but the only names on the ballot papers, are vicious and arbitrary, sending everyone unwanted or over sixty - except their own family - to a vague Elsewhere. Kitty gets rather closer to the Harts than she would have liked, and is surprised to learn that the adult testing is rigged and unfair. But if she rebels, Benjy will feel the punishment. Others are rebelling, but it never makes the news.

The justification given for the societal transformation is overpopulation and not enough food, water or social order to support everyone. However our heroine immediately sees that the rulers have far more wealth than the lower ranks and asks why a more equal share couldn't be made to help those who have the least.

The author Aimee Carter presents a dystopian society on the lines of Hunger Games or Red Rising where personal, family politics turn out to be just as dangerous as nationwide ones. I would have been happier with the story if there had not been a continued focus on death, secrecy and betrayal. PAWN is the first in this new series which will continue with Captive and I recommend it for mature young adults.