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Betrayed - Divided 3
Genres: Dystopian, Speculative Fiction, Young Adult (YA)
Age Groups: 12-15, 16-18, 18+
Formats: Ebook, Paperback
Where to buy
The Underground is shattered. A sono-nuclear weapon threatens every nation. The free world's last ally is a lie.
Harriet is a medic-turned-rebel courier from Obsidian, carrying ten years of grief and a dead cousin's name. She wants two things: backup for the Underground, and a world worth surviving. What she finds in the Independent Republic of Texas is neither.
In the aftermath of Supreme Commander Martin's aerial assault on Queenstown, two Underground teams split off in opposite directions to do the only thing left — convince the free world to go to war before Martin's sono-nuclear device destroys them all. Harriet's team crosses into Texas and walks straight into a trap: a coded message in a secret drawer, a suspiciously smooth border crossing, and a presidential secretary with no business being in a safe house.
One by one, the pieces fall into a picture so chilling that Harriet and her team may not live to warn anyone about it.
Publishers Weekly BookLife Reviews calls Betrayed "an emotional, action-packed adventure intertwining a compelling near-future America with a desperate fight for freedom."
Inside this YA dystopian:
*Slow-burn romance blooming in the wreckage
*A devastating family secret hidden for eighteen years
*A grief arc that breaks your heart before it rebuilds it
*A conspiracy that reaches from Martin's inner circle to the nation that was supposed to save them
*Four protagonists from four racial backgrounds, one fight
Heat: Closed door, kisses only.
Series: Divided Series, Book 3 of 4 (read in order). Complete series available.
POV: Four POVs, third person — Marcos, Rose, Harriet, Jason
Themes: Betrayal, grief, loyalty, found family, hope in dark times
Comps: The Hunger Games · Divergent · Legend · The Darkest Minds
Content notes: wartime violence, grief, loss of a family member, no sexual content beyond kissing, no profanity beyond invented expletives. Ages 12+.
Ends on a secondary-character cliffhanger.
Reviews
Book Life
Robinson’s third entry in her Divided series finds Harriet and the remaining survivors from the Federated Republic of America’s Underground alliance still reeling from the devastating fallout in Caged. For the first time, it’s now considered legal for FRA citizens in Queenstown to move between the established ethnic areas—Obsidian, Ivory, Havanas, and Little Asia—for a monthly market day, though Harriet knows that’s due, in large part, to the Underground operatives serving on the city council. Though hopeful, she’s deeply nervous that those changes are in direct opposition to Supreme Commander Martin’s orders for segregation. Her unease is well-founded. When Martin’s hover planes attack Queenstown and tragedy strikes, Harriet and her friends must split up to seek help from the Underground’s potential allies: the Independent Republic of Texas and Protection Region of Minnesota.
This gripping post-apocalyptic tale explores political corruption, race relations, and the violence of war, with elements of romance, equality, and friendships forged through trauma and loss woven throughout. Harriet is haunted by the ghosts of lost loved ones, and she struggles to deal with her grief or let anyone in—including Marcos, her close friend and love interest. Martin’s maneuvering for power, and the looming threat of his sono-nuclear weapon capable of mass destruction, drive the Underground’s actions, pitting players like Harriet, Marcos, and Rose—all important characters from earlier books—against territories with the potential to be just as much a threat as an ally. The result is an emotional, action-packed adventure intertwining a compelling near-future America with a desperate fight for freedom.
Robinson’s writing is smooth and impactful, contrasting resilience, the American spirit, and diversity against an all-too-believable backdrop of totalitarianism. Harriet and her fellow operatives must learn to trust not just each other but the cause itself, and Robinson ends on a cliffhanger that will leave readers eager to see the ultimate outcome for the Underground, the FRA, and a convincingly divided America.
Takeaway: Compelling dystopian pits young survivors against convincing future America.