Cage

When Cora Mason wakes in a desert, she doesn't know where she is or who put her there. As she explores, she finds an impossible mix of environments-tundra next to desert, farm next to jungle-and a strangely empty town cobbled together from different cultures and time periods, all watched over by eerie black windows. And she isn't alone. Four other teenagers have also been taken: a beautiful model, a tattooed smuggler, a secretive genius, and an army brat who seems to know too much about Cora's past. None of them have a clue as to what happened, and all of them have secrets. As the unlikely group struggles for leadership, they slowly start to trust each other. But when their mysterious jailer appears-a handsome young guard called Cassian-they realize that their captivity is more terrifying than they could ever imagine: Their abductors aren't from Earth. And they have taken the five teenagers to an otherworldly zoo-where the exhibits are humans. When a forbidden attraction develops between Cora and Cassian, she realizes that her best chance of escape might be in the arms of her own jailer-though that would mean leaving the others behind. Can Cora manage to save herself and her companions? And if so . . . what world lies beyond the walls of their cage?

The Maze Runner meets Scott Westerfeld in the second novel in this gripping and romantic YA series about teens abducted from Earth by an otherworldly race-from Megan Shepherd, the acclaimed author of the Madman's Daughter series. They've left the cage-but they're not free yet. After their failed escape attempt, Cora, Lucky, and Mali have been demoted to the lowest level of human captives and placed in a safari-themed environment called the Hunt, along with wild animals and other human outcasts. They must serve new Kindred masters-Cora as a lounge singer, Lucky as an animal wrangler, and Mali as a safari guide-and follow new rules or face dangerous consequences. Meanwhile, Nok and Rolf have been moved into an enormous dollhouse, observed around the clock by Kindred scientists interested in Nok's pregnancy. And Leon, the only one who successfully escaped, has teamed up with villainous Mosca black-market traders. The former inhabitants of the Cage are threatened on all fronts-and maybe worst of all, one of the Hunt's Kindred safari guests begins to play a twisted game of cat and mouse with Cora. Separated and constantly under watch, she and the others must struggle to stay alive, never mind find a way back to each other. When Cassian secretly offers to train Cora to develop her psychic abilities-to prove the worthiness of humanity in a series of tests called the Gauntlet-she'll have to decide fast if she dares to trust the Kindred who betrayed her, or if she can forge her own way to freedom.

Perfect for fans of Scott Westerfeld and The Maze Runner, The Gauntlet is the gripping finale to the thrilling and addictive Cage series about teens abducted from Earth by an otherworldly race; from Megan Shepherd, the New York Times bestselling author of the Madman's Daughter series. Cora and her friends have escaped the Kindred station and landed at Armstrong, a supposed safe haven on a small moon, where they plan to regroup and figure out how to win the Gauntlet, the challenging competition to prove humanity's intelligence and set them free. But Armstrong is no paradise; ruled by a power-hungry sheriff, it&'s a violent world where the teens are enslaved and put to work in mines. As Nok's due date grows closer, and Mali and Leon journey across space to rescue Cassian, the former inhabitants of the cage are up against impossible odds. With the whole universe at stake, Cora will do whatever it takes, including pushing her body and mind to the breaking point, to escape Armstrong and run the Gauntlet. But it isn't just a deranged sheriff she has to overcome: the other intelligent species, the Axion, Kindred, Gatherers, and Mosca, all have their own reasons to stop her. Not knowing who to trust, Cora must rely on her own instincts to win the competition, which could change the world, though it might destroy her in the process.