The Dividing Sky

 By: Jill Tew  

Location: FIC TEW

Genre: Dystopia

Review by Baylee: It's hard to believe this is Tew's debut book. The Dividing Sky was exciting and engrossing, yes, AND it did what the best speculative fiction always does: it made me think more deeply about the world we live in today. The world is vividly portrayed, the characters are relatable, and the challenges they face -- connecting with our own and others' humanity in a system designed to strip that away, coping physically and psychologically with soul-crushing work -- are ones that may feel familiar (though I'll admit my day-to-day challenges don't have me on the edge of my seat the way this book did).

If you want an action-packed, gritty yet beautiful and inspiring read, READ THIS. And it is always a treat to read spec fiction featuring women and people of color, written by women and people of color.

Serpent and Dove meets Arcane in this swoony dystopian adventure, set in a near-future world that reads like Jeff Bezos’s fever dream.

Liv is a Proxy, a member of the lower class who lives to enrich the lives of others. She's supposed to use the neurochip in her brain to give her workaholic clients memories of experiences they've never had, so they can stay productive. And yeah, maybe she also deals a few happy memories illegally on the side, to her fellow lower class citizens who need a reason to keep going. She makes an extra buck, and it's harmless, right?

Rookie enforcer Adrian doesn't think so. He doggedly tracks Liv to the woods on the Metro's outskirts, only to find that she's wiped all memories of who she is, what she's done, and how much she should hate someone in his uniform.

It was supposed to be simple: find the perpetrator, bring her in. But if Liv can’t remember anything, is she truly guilty? And is the law Adrian's pledged his life to defend truly in the best interest of all? Turns out justice looks a little different in the woods’ golden light.