Honor among Thieves by Rachel Caine (review)

In 2042, the Leviathan, an alien race of large living spaceships, arrived on Earth to save all of humanity from, frankly, itself, and for the past one hundred years the technologically advanced extraterrestrials have only asked for one thing in return: to take a select few humans of tremendous talent and skill on yearly interstellar tours. Now, in New Detroit's Lower Eight, teenager Zara Cole is a skilled thief embedded in a world of poverty, crime, and drug abuse, separated from the utopian neighborhood of Paradise by drone surveillance, a fortified fence, and her own resistance to the loss of self she sees as unavoidable in a life of privilege. The tough but stubborn protagonist values her independence above all else and has been hurt before—an abusive father, an estranged mother, more group homes and mandatory rehabilitation centers than she can count—so she's come to trust only herself. Despite her skepticism of the world the Leviathan has yielded, Zara becomes the youngest ever to be selected for the voyage of a lifetime. Initially reluctant, she befriends her brainy co-pilot and develops an intimate relationship with the living ship on this action-packed journey. Caine and Aguirre imagine a future that offers the fanciful appeal of medicinal nanotech and holographic handheld devices while still contributing the recognizable inequities of the present. The dystopian tropes here are familiar, but the narrative brings new resonance with its thoughtful consideration of Zara's past trauma and relationships. This story about unconventional connections and conflicts both interpersonal and intergalactic is a satisfying first outing in a planned series that should appeal to fans of Yancey's 5th Wave trilogy (BCCB 9/13) or of Morgan's (or the CW's) The 100 (BCCB 11/13). WJ