"Birthmarked" by Caragh M. O'Brien (361 pages)

I must confess that I am not a person who usually would read a book of this genre,  as I am not a big fan of dystopian fiction. I was pleasantly surprised by this book, though. It was easy to get into, and after a few chapters, I found myself really caring about the main character.  The book is set in a future in which the world has been “baked dry” by the sun, making things like water and crops scarce. Society is divided  between those who live inside the wall, and those who live outside the wall.

Gaia, lives outside the wall, and like her mother, she becomes a midwife, delivering her first baby by herself at the beginning of the book. The babies Gaia births do not get to stay with their parents outside the wall, but get “advanced” into the the more privileged  society within the walls of the Enclave. When both of Gaia’s parents are arrested by the Enclave, she starts to question the authority she has been brainwashed into serving and takes saving her parents from the Enclave into her own hands.

This book is the first book of the "Birthmarked" series. You’re left wondering what will happen next. I recommend this book to anyone who likes dystopian fiction, science fiction, or fantasy.

reviewed by Alexis Merrill