Imagine Les Miserables set in a future L.A., and switch it up so that Javert is a wicked-smart rich girl named June and Valjean is a handsome street rat/criminal named Day. Unless you’re one of the elite, you wouldn’t want to live in this Los Angeles, where strange plagues strike with ferocity and the regime of the Republic expects only full subservience. When violence hits close to home for June, she is suddenly and firmly obsessed with finding Day and bringing him to justice.

What do you think, will they fall in love?? Just kidding! Of course they do! I did like how this story played out — there are a lot of plot points that felt a bit obvious to me and would for those who read a lot of dystopia, but it flows well and was intriguing enough to keep me interested. June is a great female character — strong and capable but with a kind heart; I liked watching her grow. One unfortunate thing is that, for me, some of the male characters felt a little too … female… in the sense that they are more emotional and sentimental than the majority of the males in my experience and it made it a little harder for me to suspend my disbelief about the story. Not that I don’t like a guy with a soft side, but June’s brother, especially, didn’t seem to fit into the character I would have imagined. So, that problem just might be my own.

Despite the things that bothered me, it still gets four stars for keeping me totally interested and even making me put my hand over my mouth in shock once. Good times.

If you liked The Hunger Games, etc., this is certainly one to try.

Rated: Mild for a few instances of mild language, a few kissing scenes (completely non-graphic) and some violence — I’d call it “none” for older readers.