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From the authors of Sanctuary comes a haunting near-future companion tale about undocumented immigrants subjected to deadly experiments in a government labor camp and the four courageous rebels who set into place a daring plan to liberate them.

The year is 2033, and in this near-future America where undocumented people are forced into labor camps, life is bleak. Especially so for seventeen-year-old Rania, a Lebanese teenager from Chicago. When she and her mother were rounded up by the Deportation Force, they were given the brutal job of digging in the labor camp’s mine in search of the destructive and toxic—but potentially world-changing—mineral aqualinium. With this mineral, the corrupt and xenophobic government of the New American Republic could actually control the weather—ending devastating droughts sweeping the planet due to climate change. If the government succeeds, other countries would be at their mercy. Solidifying this power comes at the expense of the undocumented immigrants forced to endure horrendous conditions to mine the mineral or used in cruel experiments to test it, leaving their bodies wracked in extreme pain to the point of death. As the experiments ramp up, things only get worse. Rania and her fellow prisoners decide to start a revolution; if they don’t, they know they will die.

Told by four narrators—Rania, Jess (a former teenage Deportation Force officer), Vali, and Vali’s mother, Liliana—Solis is about the courage and sacrifice it takes to stand and fight for freedom.

Praise for Solis:

“A tight pace and distinct voices bring dynamic energy to this harrowing dystopia, which is perhaps most terrifying in its similarity to our current environmental and political landscape…Each character has their own unique traumas, underscoring the very many ways the world is falling apart and the very few possibilities there seem to be for humanity to survive. Readers of Mendoza’s Sanctuary will recognize some key elements, but no knowledge of the previous book is needed to understand the overwhelming odds these teens—and the world—are facing.”—The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

“Set in an alarmingly near future, Mendoza's sequel to her novel Sanctuary describes a nightmarish United States in which all immigrants, regardless of current status, are categorized as illegal…The plot is tautly written and the pace increases rapidly toward the climax.”—Booklist

Resistance and a fight for freedom in the face of unspeakable horrors…the characters are three-dimensional, and their deep connection and care for one another are highlights of the story. A gripping concept...”—Kirkus Reviews

  • Pages: 272 Pages
  • Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
  • Imprint: Nancy Paulsen Books
  • ISBN: 9780593530818
Penguin Teen