To learn more about the FORGED series, visit the Table of Contents.
If you devoured The Hunger Games, Divergent, Legend, and Matched, then I have a recommendation for you: The Forged Series.
The adventure starts with Shattered, scheduled to be released in late 2024. Find bits of yourself in the telling of Tessa’s story. Get lost in her world, in her journey. Root for her and her friends as they navigate the twists and turns encountered.
Shattered
In the remnants of the Pacific Northwest, 110 years from now, fourteen-year-old Tessa Wright's idyllic life in the Wilds is disrupted by the death of her family.
Haunted by mysterious memories and thrust into an urban society, Tessa struggles with grief while navigating high school among the privileged Elites and attempting to understand her true identity. She is drawn into the plot to uncover the truth behind a devasting terrorist attack and the sinister plans of the Ryker administration.
As Tessa unravels her past, she must fight for her newfound friends and dwindling freedoms. The lines between loyalty, love, and the cost of rebellion are blurred. Can she reclaim her true self before it's too late?
Self-Discovery
The Forged Series explores several themes. At the center is a coming-of-age journey — the discovery of one’s identity is a rite of passage in every young person’s life. Through the push and pull of internal and external forces, Tessa and the others must figure out what kind of person they each want to be.
“The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.”
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
A reflection of current politics?
Woven throughout the series is the examination of free will and freedom of choice. Tessa and the other teens must expose the country's power-hungry leaders and fight back against their efforts to control decisions that limit personal freedoms. The story discusses the idea that power is best held by those who don’t seek it rather than by those who are hungry for it and who want to wield it to control others.
“If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.”
~ “Freewill” - Song by Rush
Nature vs. Nurture
Science is ever-evolving in the search for deeper truths and the desire to unlock mysteries. But how much scientific control of human evolution is too much? How much do our innate abilities vs. what we are taught affect our decisions? The story touches on the self-destruction qualities of revenge, harboring resentment, and the inability to forgive. Depression and guilt play a major role in Tessa’s journey. There are elements of found—or chosen—family, plus some budding romance. (Ah, the teenage years…)
A touch of CliFi
As a dystopian novel set 110 years from now, the world in which Tessa lives presents how the global climate crisis could play out. It depicts a tale of hope, where future generations have embraced the need to find better ways to preserve Earth’s limited resources and continue to strive to rebalance the ecosystem through focused, joint efforts.
Trigger warnings
The narrative includes statements about birth control, reproductive sterilization, invitro fertilization, DNA manipulation, reliance on technology, depression, and survivor’s guilt. Other potential triggers include the mention of a fatal vehicular accident, stillbirths, and bullying.
As a reader, your personal experiences will color your interpretation of each character’s words and actions. You may feel that they go “too far” or “not far enough” as issues are faced and decisions are made. There is no one correct answer to the situations they face. They do their best with what they know — and what they can handle — when they’re faced with the situation. Or do they?
To learn more about the FORGED series, visit the Table of Contents.
Before you go
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What I’m reading
Here are some other dystopian fiction pieces you might enjoy, available either on Substack or as a published book(s).
There is Hope - From
, “There Is Hope is a climate fiction series about life on a planet devastated by climate change and the little things that give people hope.” The scope of work includes both short stories and letters from the future, each “interlinked through recurring characters and a unifying plot arc.” Beautifully interwoven stories. Magnificently complex characters. Robust world-building. And an entertaining read!Ada’s Children - A post-post-apocalyptic sci-fi novel from
is recounted from two alternating timelines, one set around the year 2040, when AI “steps in to put a stop to everything threatening humanity and the planet,” and the second set in “a not-quite-idyllic far future in which humans are once again hunter-gatherers living in a matriarchal society.” I’m currently devouring this in book form!- ventured out from her traditional cross-genre fiction set on Ferris Island to write a soft science fiction tale. “[O]ld man Burgess resurrects a force from his past and must make a decision that affects not just his own future, but that of the people around him.” And it does not disappoint!
Taken series - Recently re-released,
’s YA dystopian series is “about a boy named Gray who lives in an isolated community where all boys mysteriously vanish when they turn eighteen.” I read the series earlier this year and enjoyed every bit of it!
Thanks for the shoutout! It’s great to be included along with Claudia.
Amazing! Your book sounds similar to mine!