Marooned by P.J. Druce

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

High above the streets, the skyscrapers in the cities of the American Union exude wealth, luxury, and for the privileged few, immortality. Those with the means to take Communion are immune to the diseases and risks that ravage those who live outside the city walls. While life is a struggle for the less affluent, their existence is subsidized by the rich. Food and medicine are cheap, transportation is free–and for those with needed skills–indentured servitude to the wealthy or to the government can buy your own expanded longevity. They are two different worlds, and those above and those below share little in common except for one thing: A love for the Professional Seeder matches, where immortal combatants fight until only one is left standing.

With two weeks left before her sixteenth birthday, Punk Jordan lives out the last days of her mortal existence by competing in underground Seeder matches where only the best martial artists excel and the rules stop the moment the match begins. The daughter of William Jordan, founder of the company that makes the Communion drug, Punk’s elevation to immortality is guaranteed and a life of fame and wealth on the professional circuit awaits. But when those closest to her–including her own mentally ill mother–turn out to be part of a heretical anti-government movement, her comfortable life is shattered. To protect those she loves the most, Punk flees the only home she’s ever known and is forced to make choices that weigh family against compassion, privilege against promises and love against immortality itself. Continue reading →