Humanity’s fate will be decided by a “grand jury” of 13 Scions, randomly chosen citizens of the planet Alma, who form an Interplanetary Affairs Committee.
Readers get only snippets of the scions’ deliberations, interspersed at the beginning of sections that herald each new day. The main focus of this story is on three point-of-view characters: Jesse, Cate, and Adeem, during what may be their final seven days of life on Earth.
“With only seven days to face their truths and right their wrongs, Jesse, Cate, and Adeem’s paths collide even as their worlds are pulled apart.”
One question I had when reading this book: the interplanetary committee chose a “focus group, a random selection of humans whose behaviors may further elucidate these discussions.” Just who was part of that group? As a reader, am I meant to interpret that the story’s three POV characters — Jesse, Cate, and Adeem — are part of that focus group of humans whose behavior was being observed?
What insights did the scions take away from observing this “focus group” of humans? Once the idea of a focus group was introduced it was never mentioned again in any transcripts/excerpts from the trial.
And at the risk of spoilers (feel free to skip this paragraph): the ending of the book is ambiguous. Is it a sunrise that our human characters see dawning on the horizon or does the light they see herald deployment of the Anathogen virus that will instantly and painlessly kill all human life? When I read this, I felt as though the ending was open to interpretation and I was inclined to envision a hopeful future for Earth’s human inhabitants.
The intended audience for this book is 13 years and older according to the publisher.
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