The air is polluted, the divide between the rich and poor is only increasing, and the corrupt Jin Corporation is only making matters worse. In Cindy Pon’s latest release, Want, political intrigue and high-intensity material are expertly woven together to create a YA novel that is captivating from the very first sentence. With the world slowly deteriorating and the human race slowly dwindling, a group of rogue teenagers must take it upon themselves to end Jin Corporation and fight for the only world the human race has ever known.

Want begins with Jason, a poor teenager who is determined to stop the injustice within his own society. In a world where the rich are able to survive by obtaining outrageously expensive suits from Jin Corporation to filter their air, Jason knows that the company has to be stopped. But when he takes matters into his own hands by kidnapping the daughter of one of the richest men in Taiwan, danger and deadly situations instantaneously seem to follow. And when his friends decide to fight alongside him, the chaos only increases; their goal to destroy Jin Corporation proves to be more complicated and dangerous than any of the rebels could have imagined. With aircars zipping through the air, unlikely allies appearing at the most unlikely of moments, and a mission that could mean the end of the only world Jason and his friends have ever known, Want gives readers an adventure that is romantic, fast-paced, and a pleasure to read.

I rarely make lists ranking my favorite books of the year, but I broke that rule after reading Want. As a reader, I mainly enjoy contemporary or realistic fiction; I had no idea going in how much I was going to love this book. The connections to our own society were very interesting to read about, and the budding romance between Jason and his love interest, Daiyu, kept me hooked throughout the entire book, which I read in a single day. So even if sci-fi is not your typical read, I beg all teenage and adult readers to give this YA crowd-pleaser a try. I guarantee readers will find something to enjoy about this incredible sci-fi masterpiece.

Their world is divided between those who can afford clean air and those who cannot. Jason Zhou is the leader Taiwan and the rest of the world needs, though he may be one of the most unlikely choices to save their polluted and corrupt society. Told with excellent political commentary and with characters that are some of the best in the sci-fi genre, Want is impossible to put down and highly addicting. Follow Jason and Daiyu as they defy the rules and fight for the lives they have always dreamed of.