Disruption

Gr 8 Up—A fast-paced and frightening dystopian series opener. What if you could wear a smartwatchlike band that could tell you when you're getting stressed or tired or who your next best friend or even soul mate will be? In Maggie Stevens's world, such technology is a reality—and a requirement. Advanced Phera-tech allows people to match up based on their pheromone readings; couples can be enemies, friends, "lust-matches," or even good marriage candidates, and there's the nearly impossible "perfect match." Maggie's father is locked away in a prison for being a "neg," or someone who garners only negative readings with others—a sign of a criminal or otherwise unstable person. The protagonist knows her father is not a neg, so she blackmails the heir to the M-Corp fortune, Quentin Mercer, to help her find her dad. What she doesn't expect is that the person she thinks is her enemy is someone entirely different and that those she loves can be her enemies. As Maggie grapples with whether to trust the Phera-tech ratings or her own instincts, vast conspiracies are unraveled and she must choose between her heart and her head. With heaps of action and suspense, along with a realistically imperfect heroine, this title is a take on a world that is not far from plausible—where we are all controlled by bands on our wrists.