Diana Peterfreund
Young Adult
Releases October 15th
Balzer + Bray
THE STORY (from Goodreads)
Centuries after wars
nearly destroyed civilization, the two islands of New Pacifica stand
alone, a terraformed paradise where even the Reduction—the devastating
brain disorder that sparked the wars—is a distant memory. Yet on the
isle of Galatea, an uprising against the ruling aristocrats has turned
deadly. The revolutionaries’ weapon is a drug that damages their
enemies’ brains, and the only hope is rescue by a mysterious spy known
as the Wild Poppy.On the neighboring island of Albion, no one suspects that the Wild Poppy is actually famously frivolous aristocrat Persis Blake. The teenager uses her shallow, socialite trappings to hide her true purpose: her gossipy flutternotes are encrypted plans, her pampered sea mink is genetically engineered for spying, and her well-publicized new romance with handsome Galatean medic Justen Helo… is her most dangerous mission ever.
Though Persis is falling for Justen, she can’t risk showing him her true self, especially once she learns he’s hiding far more than simply his disenchantment with his country’s revolution and his undeniable attraction to the silly socialite he’s pretending to love. His darkest secret could plunge both islands into a new dark age, and Persis realizes that when it comes to Justen Helo, she’s not only risking her heart, she’s risking the world she’s sworn to protect.
In this thrilling adventure inspired by The Scarlet Pimpernel, Diana Peterfreund creates an exquisitely rendered world where nothing is as it seems and two teens with very different pasts fight for a future only they dare to imagine.
For Darkness Shows the Stars was one of my absolute favorite reads last year, so I'm beyond excited for this book even though it's entirely its own and unrelated character/plot-wise. I haven't read The Scarlet Pimpernel, but I hadn't read Persuasion either when I read For Darkness Shows the Stars, so I know my lack of knowledge of the original will have no effect on my love for this book.
In a happy turn of events, when I was verifying the release date for this book on Amazon, I made a Discovery of Awesome. It turns out Diana Peterfreund has written a novella prequel to For Darkness Shows the Stars called Among the Nameless Stars (how am I just now learning of this?!) and it's FREE for the Kindle. *spastic flailing* If you don't have a Kindle, it's also available as a PDF on Diana's website, you can grab it here.
Four years before the events of FOR DARKNESS SHOWS THE STARS, the servant Kai left the North Estate, the only home he’d ever known, and Elliot North, the only girl he ever loved, in search of a better life. But the journey was not an easy one.
Featuring narrow escapes, thrilling boat races and at least one deadly volcanic wasteland.
