The first book in a gripping duology from acclaimed author S.K. Ali introduces a fractured world on the brink of either enlightenment or war.Would you trade love for peace?Raisa of Upper Earth has only lived a life of privilege and acquiescence. Ever dutiful, she accepts her father’s arrangement of her marriage to Lein, Crown Prince of the corrupt, volatile lands of Lower Earth.
Though Lein is a stranger, Raisa knows the wedding will unite their vastly different worlds in a pact of peace: an infusion of Upper Earth technology will usher in the final age of enlightenment, ending war between humans forever.
Or is justice more urgent?Newly released from imprisonment, Nada of Lower Earth has found her own calling: disrupting the royal wedding.
Convinced her cousin Lein’s alliance with Upper Earth will launch an invasive, terrifying form of tyranny, Nada sets out undercover to light the spark of revolution.
When Raisa goes missing a week before the wedding, all eyes turn to the rebels, including Nayf, Nada’s twin brother, a fugitive on the run.
In Nayf and Raisa meeting, the long-simmering animosity between their worlds slowly burns away into something unexpected.
But the Crown Prince wants his bride — and future — back. And he will go to the ends of the earths to reclaim them.
On sale: October 8, 2024
Age: 14 and up
Grade: Grade 9 & Up
Page count: 544 Pages
ISBN: 9780593531242
Reading level: Lexile: 900L
S. K. Ali is the author of several books, including
Saints and Misfits, a finalist for the American Library Association’s 2018 William C. Morris Award and winner of the APALA Honor Award and Middle East Book Honor Award; and
Love from A to Z, a Today Show Read with Jenna Book Club selection. Both novels were named best YA novels of the year by various media sources including Entertainment Weekly and Kirkus. You can find Sajidah online at SKAliBooks.com and follow her on Instagram @SKAliBooks, on TikTok @SKAliBooks, and on Twitter @SajidahWrites.
Praise for Fledgling by S.K. Ali
★ “A grippingly believable mirror of our own world.”
—
Kirkus Reviews, starred review
★“This is a duology to watch.”
—
Booklist, starred review
★ “A thrilling post-apocalyptic adventure. . . . Ali balances a wide cast of characters and various subplots to create a propulsive duology opener that will have readers eagerly awaiting the next book.”
—
School Library Journal, starred review
"Ali's science-fiction debut reads like she's known this genre all her life.
A sweeping epic of love and revolution, set in a visceral future vision of Earth and starring a cast you can't help but fall for. A breathtaking ride."
—Marie Lu, #1
New York Times bestselling author of
Stars And Smoke "A dystopian story rooted in colonial realities,
Fledgling is
a fierce and ever-relevant ode to resistance and self-determination against the hypocrisy of those who burn the world down for their own benefit and then deem themselves superior to those who survive among the ashes."
—Xiran Jay Zhao, #1
New York Times bestselling author of
Iron Widow "
A delicious blend of intricate world building, royal and political intrigue, and romance.
Fledgling pulls you in from the very first page!”
—Stephanie Garber, #1
New York Times bestselling author of
Once Upon a Broken Heart “
In turns both profound and heart racing, S. K. Ali's vision of a world on the brink of revolution or submission to artificial political intelligence sounds eerily plausible.”
—S. A. Chakraborty,
New York Times Bestselling author of The Daevabad Trilogy
“A
richly-imagined futuristic world tipping into revolution, a
fiery yet tender love story, and unyielding courage in the search for truth and justice, S. K. Ali’s entry into science fiction is powerful in every sense.
Raw, inspiring, and unputdownable.”
—Amelie Wen Zhao,
New York Times and internationally bestselling author of the
Song of the Last Kingdom duology
“Ali immerses readers in a postapocalyptic dystopia that raises questions about the meaning of freedom and the politics of revolution through a sprawling cast, numerous perspectives, and detailed worldbuilding.”
—
Publishers Weekly
