In a dystopian future Earth, following a population and pandemic catastrophe, humans are greatly reduced in number. Seventeen is a girl approved to breed, as she carries good genes, and the Unified World Order has placed her in Sanctuary of Colorado Province. However, being a BREEDER is not all she has been told, and she starts to question events.
Seventeen's life has been a regimen of exercises and drugs, vitamins and shaved heads. A man named Pax sneaks in, to where only women are allowed, and tells her that her world is a sham. If she wants to leave, he'll help. The girl has no idea what he means. After her ideals are betrayed, she realises that a command has been sent to kill her as no longer useful, and she flees with Pax - although she has no idea what is outside Sanctuary. Returning to her given name of Pria, the girl is determined to survive and learn the truth.
I like the way that in Pria's world where everyone has olive skin and brown eyes, Pax turns out to be hiding red hair, freckled pale skin and blue eyes. These recessive genes are shocking to the girl, who now really understands that she has been told lies. Pax says there are more like him, hidden in communities which are isolated and distrustful. He'll take her to one, but he can't guarantee either of them will be allowed to join the group. Meanwhile, the resourceful young man introduces Pria to many survival skills, such as swimming, killing snakes and eating meat. These aren't the worst of her challenges. There are more dangerous things than wildlife loose on Earth these days.
Pria does seem ridiculously naive, not knowing how people live in families. But all she's ever known is what she and her kind were told; they were intentionally kept illiterate. She wants to make a better future for humanity. But what if the one the Unified World Order wants is not actually better? As the tale unfolds the shocking reality emerges and the reader is invited to make up their own mind. The power of BREEDER is in the strength of our protagonist Pria, who needs to learn fast - including learning to make her own decisions - if she is to stay alive. KB Hoyle has created a Young Adult story which her teen readers will find devastatingly addictive, and the second in this sequence is to be called Criminal.
Everything about Seventeenβs life is perfect, from her
genetics, to her home in Sanctuary, to her status as a
Breeder in the Unified World Order. But all that changes
when she meets a rogue Enforcer named Pax, who infiltrates
Sanctuary and targets her for extraction from the
Controlled
Repopulation Program. Pax seems to know a little too much
about her, and he plants dangerous doubts in her mind that
accuse Sanctuary of hiding a dark secret, and that cause
Seventeen to question everything sheβs ever known.
When Seventeenβs life is threatened, she has little choice
but to run away from Sanctuary with Pax. But for Breeders,
contact with men is forbidden by law, and even the simple
act of taking Paxβs hand is treason.
Mired in confusion, Seventeen travels with Pax to the
outside world and takes the name Pria, the identity of her
childhood. But she is far from certain sheβs made the
right
decision when they discover an entire community of people
who should no longer exist.
Seventeen, now Pria, is thrust into a position as a key
player in a dangerous bid to bring down the Unified World
Order. Meanwhile, Paxβs attachment to her and her growing
attraction to him contribute to the ever-growing mysteries
in her life.
Priaβs journey from a sheltered, naΓ―ve Breeder to a rebel
agent requires not only external transformation but
self-discovery. As her world crumbles, Pria must decide
who
she is and what she really believes.
But the truth comes at a cost, and uncovering it will
require a greater treason than she could ever have
imagined.
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