Marie Lu has written a YA novel set in a dystopian future where the United States no longer exists but instead consists of two warring countries, The Republic (west) and The Colonies (east). The 15-year old protagonists are pitted against each other as representatives of the elite military controllers of The Republic (June) and of the controlled and abused masses (Day). June has ostensibly achieved the only perfect score ever seen on The Trial, administered to all 10-year old children in The Republic and is a bit of a rebel as well as a prodigy. When her older brother Metias is killed, supposedly by Day, she is pulled out of training and put on his trail. While her grief and anger drive her to capture Day--an ultimate death sentence--she discovers that she and most of the population have been manipulated through fear, deception and manufactured plagues. Told alternately from June's and Day's perspective, the ending is ripe for a sequel as we leave June and Day on the run. This book received consistently stellar reviews from even the most critical of sources (e.g., Kirkus) so I felt compelled to read it in my own time. But although it was well executed, it never really grabbed me.
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