THE BROKENHEARTED

In a futuristic society solidly divided into the haves and have-nots, a ballerina from a wealthy family finds romance, danger and deception when she crosses class lines.

Seventeen-year old Anthem Fleet lives in Upper Bedlam, on the right side of the tracks. The wrong side is the South Side, where poverty is the norm, along with widespread crime sponsored and supported by the Syndicate. Coaxed by her best friend, Zahra, a fun-loving bad girl, she slips out of her family’s high-rise penthouse to crash a South Side warehouse party. Here, Anthem meets a tall, chisel-cheeked South Sider named Gavin, and soon, the entranced Anthem is skipping her ballet practices to see him—and drawing the attention of the Syndicate, which kidnaps him from the bed where they lie sleeping. Distraught, Anthem runs through the perilous streets, only to fall off a bridge, suffering fatal injuries. But death is not her end: An underground doctor brings her back to life, illegally implanting Anthem with a mechanical heart that endows her with superhuman powers and enables her to begin a dangerous quest to save Gavin. No matter that no heartstrings will be tugged here; the action and subplots provide a strong and steady force to push readers forward. Some stunning revelations coming out of left field will cause jaws to drop.

A ripping if unsubtle page-turner.