Michael Solis’s YA science fiction tale, with LBGTQ+ themes, focuses on a world where superpowers are commonplace.

Although second in Solis’s futuristic Deficient series, Feral Rising stands on its own. The setting is Earth after the Great Catastrophe, “a supervolcanic eruption that wiped out most of what used to be North America.” In its wake, the Supreme Chancellorship rose, “dividing the world into prefectures and prohibiting movement between them as a form of population control.”

In the city of Achewon, 15-year-old Alejandro Aragón, has grown up believing he was “Deficient,” or lacking any superpower. His father and two brothers, all with enhanced strength, treat Alé with disdain. But when a violent incident reveals Alé’s ability to come back from the dead, he earns the rare classification of Feral—“Freely Accelerated”—-and becomes a hero to other Deficiently Accelerated people, especially when his mother establishes the Egalitarian Campaign supporting dignity and respect for all, regardless of abilities.

Stressed from the pressures of his newfound status and on a getaway with his friends, Alé is the victim of a kidnapping attempt by four, black-cloaked riders on photon bikes. This is just the beginning of a series of incidents that distance him from his friends and take him down a new path, eventually landing him in a top-secret group doing work he suspects is deeply, morally wrong.

Feral Rising balances impressive worldbuilding with distinctive characters, lively dialogue, page-turning pacing, and unforeseen twists. Solis knows how to write for teen readers and, in describing the uncertainty of Alé’s feelings for a former-foe-turned-friend, handles a gay crush with sensitivity and authenticity.

The science fiction focus on disability enables readers to react to bias and discrimination without contemporary labels attached, and teens will recognize the real-world issues raised. Solis’s layered, voice-driven writing exceeds typical YA sci-fi prose, and the storytelling structure is tightly conceived with surprising, jaw-dropping outcomes.

In short, this is a series to devour and a writer to follow.

Also available as an ebook.