By Pablo Cartaya
New York: Harper, 2022. Fiction. 300p.
In a dystopian future, 12-year-old Yolanda Cicerón dreams of trading her rural life for a life as a neurolink surgeon in the high-tech metropolis called Silo. Getting to Silo requires an intense education and an insane amount of money. But when the farm stops producing ripe strawberries to sell, and her sister Camila -- Yoly's guardian since her parents exile -- can't afford to pay the tuition, Silo seems at of reach. Mayor Blackburn steps in with a scholarship offer for Yoly, who secretly accepts the money without reading the fine print -- in exchange for the money, Yoly agreed to pay her debt through hard labor in a wasteland beyond the city. Terrified, Cami finally shares family secrets with Yolanda that lead to the discovery of the last-known beehive. Racing against Mayor Blackburn; Yoly, Cami and their friends have only a little time to break Yoly's contract and save the day.
This is a fast-paced science fiction adventure novel that is a good fit for any readers who liked The Last Cuentista or other dystopian novels. Yoly is a hero that many readers will root for as she uncovers sinister conspiracies and stands up to an authoritarian government. The worldbuilding is especially good in this book -- a future world ravaged by climate change and motivated to promote technology over nature is well-drawn and feels entirely possible. Pablo Cartaya has won a Schneider Family Book Award and a Pura Belpré Honor Award for previous books, and I wouldn't be surprised to see this compelling sci-fi get some recognition as well. This book ends on a cliffhanger, and readers will highly anticipate a potential sequel.
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