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

But my mother’s smile never dimmed. “Don’t worry, Aine. When the time comes, you’ll do what you have to.” 23


The fact that my mother didn’t have to watch me take the pills underscored the Overseer’s earlier threat—he had complete control over the Colony, and if he wanted to, he could force me to follow along with the rest. For now, he was allowing me to not take my pills, any of them, if I chose not to, but on one unspoken condition. That I take my position beside him in his office in two years’ time.


Chapter 51