"To escape execution for a crime she didn't commit, seventeen-year-old Sev is forced to run away from her city into the wilderness. With nowhere to turn, Sev has to figure out who she can trust in a world where trusting the wrong person could mean not only her life but the lives of everyone she loves"--,Provided by publisher.

Her mother's body is displayed above Traitor's Arch, kept in a paralyzed half sleep by the same plague that destroyed the rest of the world. Sev herself was branded, a star burned into her hand-- the penalty for being the daughter of the woman who betrayed their entire nation. Blamed for a horrific bombing, Sev must escape the city or face the chopping block. Her only hope of survival lies with Howl, the chairman's son. In a hostile world, Sev knows trusting the wrong person could mean her life... and the lives of everyone she loves.

young adult fiction,amazon