Birthmarked (Birthmarked #1)

Title: Birthmarked (Birthmarked #1)  
Author: Caragh M. O'Brien
Rating: 3.5/5
Summary: IN THE ENCLAVE, YOUR SCARS SET YOU APART, and the newly born will change the future.
Sixteen-year-old Gaia Stone and her mother faithfully deliver their quota of three infants every month. But when Gaia’s mother is brutally taken away by the very people she serves, Gaia must question whether the Enclave deserves such loyalty. A stunning adventure brought to life by a memorable heroine, this dystopian debut will have readers racing all the way to the dramatic finish.

My Thoughts: This debut novel is an enthralling dystopian fantasy. Gaia’s mother is a midwife and now at age 16, so is she. Each month, the first children born must be advanced to behind the wall of the Enclave, escaping the poverty outside the wall. It is Gaia’s duty to turn those children over just as her two older brothers were turned over. Gaia herself was no advanced because of her scarred face. But now Gaia’s parents have been seized by the Enclave and no one knows why. When they do not return, Gaia decides to sneak inside the wall and see if she can find out what has happened to them. Through her journey, Gaia learns that the lies being told to her and the others outside the wall are many and complex, but that one girl can still make a difference with one heroic act. 

There is adventure and romance in this novel, all told through the eyes of the girl who is a loner and outsider because of her disfiguring scar. Get this into the hands of those who enjoy Tamora Pierce, because they will love this heroine and wait impatiently along with me for the next in the series.