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The Scorpion Rules | November 4, 2015

by Erin Bow (Margaret K. McElderry Books/Simon & Schuster, September 2015)

Like many YA readers in 2015, I’m a bit skeptical of any new stories with a whiff of “apocalypse” or “dystopia.” Thus, I went into Erin Bow’s The Scorpion Rules with a bit of trepidation. However, this remarkable story proved to be an un-put-downable sci-fi thriller that asks big questions about love, war, and the cost of peace. In a future where the world is controlled by an AI named Talis, each of the world’s leaders is required to send a hostage to the Children of Peace. The price of any leader declaring war is their hostage’s life. Greta, the crown princess of the Pan Polar Confederation, has lived most of her life as a hostage at Precepture Four, and is patiently awaiting her 18th birthday, at which time she can leave the Precepture for another hostage to take her place. But everything turns upside down when a new hostage arrives who refuses to play by the rules. With compelling characters, an unpredictable plot, and a delightfully shocking AI character, The Scorpion Rules is sure to thrill and amuse legions of readers.

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