Prized

O’Brien, Caragh M. Prized. 2011. 356p. ISBN 978-1-59643-570-4. Book 2 of the Birthmarked Series. FIC OBR on the library shelves

At the end of Birthmarked, Gaia fled the Enclave with her newborn sister Maya to escape the Protectorate and protect them both as much as with the faint hope of finding a rumored village across the wasteland. But weak and famished, they both would have perished in the desert had they not been found by an outrider. Brought to Sylum to face the Matrarc, Gaia is given an impossible choice: Give up her sister forever or be forced back into the wasteland where they will both die.

In Sylum, women rule, and an unknown sickness causes one girl to be born for every nine men. Gaia suddenly finds herself wanted by the men of the village, despite her scarred face. Her heart is pulled in different directions by Chardo Peter and his brother Will, and by the sudden arrival of Leon, the Protector’s son who also fled the Enclave and chased her through the desert.

Gaia is also confronted to unforgiving rules regarding behavior and expectations, which sets her up on a collision course with the Matrarc, the ruler of Sylum. Will Gaia fight for what she believes is right, even if this may lead to the destruction of Sylum? Will she be forced to choose one of the three boys vying for her attention? Will she become free again and be reunited with Maya?