Starting right where Birthmarked left off, Gaia is wandering in the wastelands with her infant sister, and both of them are near death. She's saved by a lone rider, who takes her to a place called Sylum. Maya is instantly taken away from her, and Gaia soon learns that Sylum is in a steady decline due to the skewed population (there hasn't been a girl born in Sylum for two years). The women rule the place, and there's some very strict laws that Gaia has trouble adjusting to rather quickly.And then, of course, there is Leon, who escapes from the Enclave (you can read "Tortured" for more about this, which is a free e-novella, although the events in the novella are summed up quickly towards the middle of the book). I really like this series. I'm a little bummed that the author had to turn down the "love triangle" (actually, love square) route that so many YA dystopian trilogies do, but whatever. The character of Gaia grows and struggles, and I really like Leon as a character too. He challenges her instead of merely just doing whatever she wants, which is a plus. I'm surprised that it took me so long to stumble upon this series, and I'm going to be bummed when I get to the end of the last book. This is the second book in the Birthmarked trilogy. Gaia just escaped from her home with her baby sister and enters the wasteland hoping to find a place to survive. She is scooped up and taken to Sylum, a village on the shores of a vast marsh. Sylum is a dystopian society where women rule the men who drastically outnumber them, and a kiss is a crime. On top of that Gaia's infant sister Maya is taken away from her and given to a set of adoptive parents. Gaia must submit to their strict social code, but how can she deny her sense of justice, her curiosity, and everything in her heart that makes her whole?
What do You think about Prized (2011)?
I didn't like it as much as the first one. Let's see if the third one can save the series for me!
—Bread
It was a good book but she is still a 16 year old girl trying to find herself
—Marcia
I didn't love it, but in liked it better than book 1.
—Mhairi1
