Confession time: I have a seven page document with notes of books that I’ve read and want to write full reviews of. I’m trying to post more frequent, quick reviews to catch up. This was one of my eagerly anticipated titles of 2017.

Want by Cindy Pon. Simon Pulse, 2017.

In a futuristic, dystopian Taipei, the world is divided into the mei, the wants, and the you, the haves.  The mei are perpetually poor and at risk from the polluted air, while the you spend their days on pleasure in the safety of controlled environment suits.  Our heroes are a diverse gang of teens, including American-Taiwanese Jason Zhou, smooth Filipino Victor, science-y Arun, cybersecurity hacker Lingyi, and her girlfriend and spy/weapons expert Iris. When they discover a dastardly plot to keep the pollution and the profitable protection industry going, they develop a risky plan to expose it.  Naturally, this will involve Jason coming into close contact with the alluring Daiyu, daughter of the wicked businessman.  This was a little angsty and insta-love for me, but overall a lot of fun with a nice twist.  I think contemporary/futuristic settings are more popular especially with teens these days, though I still love the historical setting of Serpentine and Silver Phoenix.