Waiting on Wednesday, #27

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases we can't wait to get our hands on.

Here's my selection for this week... 

The Office of Mercy by Ariel Djanikian

Expected Publication: February 21, 2013

Publisher: Viking Adult

Preorder: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Twenty-four-year-old Natasha Wiley lives in America-Five—a high-tech, underground, utopian settlement where hunger and money do not exist, everyone has a job, and all basic needs are met. But when her mentor and colleague, Jeffrey, selects her to join a special team to venture Outside for the first time, Natasha’s allegiances to home, society, and above all to Jeffrey are tested. She is forced to make a choice that may put the people she loves most in grave danger and change the world as she knows it.

The Office of Mercy is speculative fiction at its best with a deeply imagined, lush world, high-stakes adventure, and romance that will thrill fans of Suzanne Collins, Margaret Atwood, Justin Cronin, and Kazuo Ishiguro.

Dystopic fiction will always immediately draw my attention. I consider myself one of the original Hunger Games fans having read book one the week it hit the shelves, and it's since been a genre that's remained at the top of my list. With The Office of Mercy, it's stories such as this that portray a world gone so wrong in its attempt to achieve a utopian society that you can't help but imagine its horrifying possibility. I'm a fan of debut authors, as well as dystopian fiction... so blend the two and you caught my attention... hard. I'm really looking forward to this one and considering the early praise it's already getting, I'm excited to get my hands on The Office of Mercy.

Early Praise for this Book:

“In Djanikian’s horrifically brutal, compelling debut, postapocalyptic America is left peopled by twogroups: those who live emotionally controlled existences in high-tech underground such as America-Five, and the wild, emotionally fierce people of the Tribes…A grim muse on a future with shades of the Hunger Games, Djanikian’s first offering should attract readers voracious for this popular subgenre.”  Booklist (STARRED)

“Gripping, well-plotted, and boasting a fascinating setting, this utterly engrossing tale is thoughtful and surprising. Djanikian’s adroit writing turns the elements of the dystopian novel on their head, and the central character’s struggles in America-Five were, by turns, both starkly foreign and hauntingly familiar.”  Deborah Harkness, author of the All Souls Trilogy

“Fascinating. . . . Djanikian’s fictitious world combines both the horrifying consequences of ethnic cleansing with the bright new hope of how much one person can do to change history…Both believable and chilling, this tale transports readers to a futuristic utopic life where good and evil mingle with equal opportunity and are often indistinguishable to the characters…This intriguing slice of future drama ends much too soon, and will leave readers begging for a sequel, if not a series.”  Kirkus

“Comparisons are being made to works by Margaret Atwood, Justin Cronin, and Kazuo Ishiguro, and I’ll throw in Julianna Baggott’s “Pure” trilogy.”  School Library Journal

“In this thoughtful debut, Djanikian explores the disconnect between a utopian vision and its dystopian implementation.”  Publishers Weekly

Sooo, what book are you waiting on???