In a future Los Angeles w called Ell Aye ere everyone dies at age 17, the good of the many must eclipse the happiness of the one. Teenage girls "roll" with boys to keep the future generations coming. Gatherer Jemma, 15 and old enough to be a Mama, knew this was always coming, but she's never wanted it for herself. What she wants is her childhood friend Apple, one of the Muscle charged with protecting everyone else. Amidst the zombielike Last Lifers, the cannibal Palos, and the prowling coyotes, Jemma, her best friend Lady, Apple, and Exile Pico seek out the secret to living longer than 17 t is longer life in this world even worth it? The landscape of Ell Aye and the language of the Angelenos adds an interesting layer to this debut: the characters speak in slang, which makes it easy to get drawn into this dystopian future. Accessible for a wide range of teen readers.

Lives are short and brutal in this postapocalyptic adventure, in which communities of children fend for themselves in the ruins of Los Angeles, generations after a disease wiped out all adults. Now, girls must become Mamas at 15, since they-ll be dead by 17, and love is a luxury none of them can afford. When circumstances force 15-year-old Jemma; her best friend, Lady; the handsome Apple; and the brilliant Pico to leave the safety of the Holy Wood, they see it as an opportunity to seek out a rumored cure for the Ending, so they set off on a quest across a world filled with the remnants of the Parents- civilization. As they dodge the threats of the cannibalistic Biters and the feral Last Lifers, the quartet discovers the secret behind society-s collapse and their own inevitable deaths. There-s an almost mythological quality to this tale, as the resourceful protagonists maneuver through a barely recognizable landscape, with modern culture filtered through generations of oral history and misinterpretation, and debut novelist Sweat does an admirable job of maintaining the tense atmosphere and underlying desperation. Ages 13-up. Agent: Cheryl Pientka, Jill Grinberg Literary Management. (May)