Lighthouse Island by Paulette Jiles

Imagine a world gone to hell, even worse than the one we live in now.  You are assigned jobs.  If you don't do it well, you will be downgraded or perhaps killed.  You get one bottle of water a day.  Money is hard to come by, and no one cares if you live or die.

William Morrow and Edelweiss allowed me to download an ebook of this story for review (thank you).  It will be published October 8th.

This is a dark, dreary tale of young girl trying to escape her fate and the man she meets on a rooftop one night while playing chameleon and pretending she belongs there.  He helps her stay alive and lets her keep her dream of going to Lighthouse Island, where there is plenty to eat and drink and life is good.  Most think it's propaganda, but Nadia believes.

I found this one almost too dark for me.  It's a tale of survival in bad times, fear all around you, and no real hope for the future: Take the time you have, enjoy what you've got and hope for better.  Their struggles are still ongoing, but they haven't given up.  There may be more to this tale in a sequel; it seemed to end with some hints towards another book.

Happy reading.