Pawn

Pawn

by Aimée Carter

Kitty Doe has been raised to believe that everyone has an even chance.  With a simple test, every citizen can prove her worth and become a productive member of society.

One test leads to one tattoo and that tattoo means everything.  A II or III works menial labor.  A IV has a shot at mid-level jobs.  A V or VI can rise to the ranks of the powerful.  A I is removed from the population and sent "Elsewhere".  And a VII... a VII is the highest rank belonging only to the Prime Minister and his family.

When Kitty fails her test and ends up as a III, she knows that life will never be the same.

When Daxton Hart, the Prime Minister, shows up and offers her the chance to be a VII, Kitty realizes that it's her one chance to be more than just a number.  Or at least her one chance to be more than just Her number.

What Kitty doesn't realize is that she's going to have to be someone else and change everything about herself, whether she's willing or not.  And just days after she agrees, she becomes Lily Hart, niece of the Prime Minister, as she's been surgically changed to looked exactly like the murdered Hart girl.

Her job now is to end the rebellion that Lily started or more than just her life is at stake.

Final thoughts:  OK start to a dystopian plot even if it plods along a bit.  There are far too many twists and turns to keep them all straight easily and it's nearly impossible to figure out who is who or who is on who's side.  Some of the future described is actually fairly realistic, but it's not very engaging.  Decent, but not great.

Rating: 3/5