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

Then blue. You can do this,I told myself, tossing my head back and pressing my hand to my mouth. The pill stayed between my fingers, but I took another sip of water anyway. Then I did the same thing again, pretending to take the white pill.


With the last one down, I switched the water cup to my other hand and opened my mouth wide so my mother could look inside. “All gone, see?”


She made a show of looking, and I dropped the two pills from my palm into what remained of the cup of water. “Good boy.”


Moving the cup to my other hand again, I held out my now-empty palm. I hoped Kyer could think of something similar to get out of taking his pill, too. “No more here, either.”


With a nod, my mother smiled. “See? That wasn’t so bad.”


Chapter 35