The Cityborn
{4.5/5} “Only the Kranzes knew how heroically and selflessly Thomas Kranz had acted when he overthrew the Captain and set himself up as the City’s ruler. It hadn’t been because he sought power but because he sought safety, security, and stability for the City’s then-sleeping citizens. He had allowed them to Awaken into a world that worked rather than into chaos and uncertainty.”
The Cityborn by Edward Willett, published in 2017
When Alania was 12, she and 2 friends borrowed her guardian’s key, went down the elevator from the twelfth level of the city to the fifth. There they were accosted by some boys and rescued by her robot, who wasn’t as disabled as she thought.
When Danyl was 12, he got caught in a trashslide in the Middens. His guardian rescues him, and their robot tends to his wounds. But he heals faster than he thinks he should.
Eight years later, Danyl meets Alania when she falls with some garbage into his lap.
It’s a special-young-people-have-to-save-the-world story, but it’s a good one. Willett draws you into this novel with terrific world building and charming characters.
This is the 2nd novel I’ve read by Willett. I previously read Lost in Translation, which is a good one.