A Junior Library Guild Selection

“Big worldbuilding, big heart, and tons of adventure. This one will have young readers on the edge of their seats.” —Scott Reintgen, New York Times bestselling author of The Dragonships Series

A mutant boy questions the truth of his existence after crash-landing far from everything he knows in this fast-paced, action-packed middle grade sci-fi adventure perfect for fans of The Last Kids on Earth.

Brinx wasn’t born. He was created.

As one of the gene-spliced, vat-grown experiments living on Base Lab 9, Brinx’s existence has always been focused on one thing: surviving the tests forced on him by his creators, with the goal of one day reaching the Graduation Center. Brinx doesn’t know what awaits him there—and it’s not like anyone ever comes back to tell—but it must be better than Base Lab 9.

When Brinx narrowly survives his final test, he boards the armored transport vessel en route to the Center along with the other graduates, including his best friend, Jang—only to have the vessel downed by a meteor shower. Now Brinx, who’s stranded with a handful of other survivors, has to stay alive in an uncharted region of their planet that’s teeming with monstrous flora and fauna, all while trying to find Jang, who’s among the missing—or worse.