Sixteen year old Aine lives in the Colony, and his whole life was decided before he was born. In two years he will marry the girl next door, Brin, who was assigned as his Other at birth. Then he will be given a position in the Colony's workforce that best suits his talents. Each night he takes four pills, like everyone else in the Colony, and he knows the pills keep them safe and their world in order. Everything is fine. Perfect, in fact. Until Aine accidentally drops one of his pills. Terrified, he tries to hide the mistake, but when he dreams for the first time in his life, he discovers all he's been missing. What scares him more than not taking the pill, though, is how alive his dreams make him feel. Because it isn't Brin he dreams of but his best friend Kyer. Another boy. Suddenly Aine's world turns upside down, and he doesn't know what to think or who to trust. All he knows for sure is he's falling in love with Kyer, which is forbidden by the Colony's Code, and he will do anything to protect their budding relationship. Even if it means defying the Overseer and leaving the Colony behind.

The Colony Book 1: Rebellion

I caught up with Brin at the platform just as the monorail was slowing at our stop. “You made it!” she cried, giving me a quick hug. Her honey-colored hair was pulled back from her face in a loose braid, and wisps escaped to frame her heart-shaped face.


We took the same seats we had earlier in the day, leaving the two opposite us for Kyer and Lyra. On the way to their stop, Brin made me tell her all about what had happened at the Health Center, though I didn’t share the bit about the woman on the train afterward. It still shook me up too much. For the rest of the ride, my gaze kept trailing over to the screen tacked on the wall of our train car. Part of me waited for that single red light to start blinking.


I still felt as if I were being watched.


Chapter 19