These Stolen Lives (YA)

Six years ago, seventeen-year-old Mora survived the terrifying Skøl invasion.

They stole her land. They took her family. And now not even her life is her own.

Skøl culture revolves around one motto: Life is Golden. You must pay the government for the right to survive. If you can't, you're cast out at best - at worst, culled.

Records of every citizen are held at the hallowed, highly secured Life Registry, which tracks who lives and who dies, who pays and who fails. Colonized survivors like Mora face endless servitude, repaying the 'debt' of their years lived before the invasion. Mora is resigned to her fate, finding glimmers of joy in her tentative friendship with another repayer, the handsome, elusive Kit.

But then she finds out that twelve-year-old Zako, the closest thing she has to a brother, is to be put to death by the dangerous new Skøl Governor. Finding the courage to fight back, Mora and Kit conspire to smuggle Zako to safety. But their plan draws them into a dark mystery - and to a heart-pounding mission at the Life Registry itself.

They must ultimately ask themselves: what are we worth to each other?