The Ward by Jordana Frankel

It is so great that I have been working with a group of avid readers at one of the schools. These girls have compelled me to get reading YA books again. Of course there are many new dystopian novels coming out which makes jumping back into the YA pool much more enjoyable! The Ward is a futuristic dystopian novel set in New York City. At this point in time, most of New York is underwater. All that is left are the skyscrapers and bridges, and the fight for clean water to drink. Everyone living in New York fights a constant battle for fresh drinking water. The buildings that are left are good for one thing though- and that is racing a vehicle that can travel along the sides of the buildings and over the water. And that is what the main character Ren does to survive- she races at night in order to keep her and her sister alive. But her sister is very ill with the Blight- a disease that is wiping out the population of The Ward (formerly known as Manhattan) This disease has now spread to the richer part of New York and suddenly it has come to the attention of the mayor and other people in power. They are now trying to find a cure for the Blight. Ren is asked to find a new freshwater source as she goes about her nightly races, but this leads to trouble for her. She finds more than freshwater and there are many different people who want to keep her discovery a secret. As with many dystopian novels, there are times when I found the plot a bit confusing. The whole racing was exciting, but I could never get a picture in my mind of how it actually worked. Having said that, the book was exciting- I enjoyed the plot and the idea of racing along buildings. I also like the fact that Ren is a strong female character who participates in an activity that is typically only for males. She is a great character. This is only the first in a series of books and I am looking forward to the next one.