An unmissable, thrilling alternate-future novel for young adults from New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling author Ava Reid! New for 2026.

The Secret History meets The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes in #1 bestselling author Ava Reid’s brand new, epic, dystopian YA novel.

There is no application process for Valeran Academy, but it boasts the brightest – and precociously criminal – students in the nation.

A disgraced politician from a powerful American dynasty.

A coldly brilliant strategist who will sacrifice anything to win.

A former pageant queen with a talent that could change the world.

A prodigious female soldier with an enigmatic past – and a dangerous secret.

With eerie war simulations, cutthroat competitions and foreboding new technology, Valeran trains its students to be elite assets in a Cold War that has dragged on for nearly a century. But as a sinister conspiracy takes shape and these four are drawn together for a mysterious mission, their loyalties are tested, their convictions shaken and they all begin to wonder: are they ushering in a new era of freedom, or tyranny?