Feral Rising (The Deficient)

Alé Aragón wasn’t supposed to come back. Once written off as powerless, he survived a horrific encounter that should have killed him—and returned changed. Now reclassified and thrust into the spotlight, Alé has become the face of a growing movement for Deficient rights in a world split between those who celebrate his survival and those who wish he had stayed dead.

When a brutal attack rocks Alé’s school, the prefecture responds by tightening its grip to restore order. Alé is recruited into a top-secret security program that he hopes will keep the people he loves safe.

But as Alé’s training intensifies, his peers begin losing their memories. Uncovering what’s happening could save his friends—and a boy with super strength he can’t stop thinking about—but it may also confirm a terrifying fear: that Alé poses far more danger to the world than anyone realizes.

Michael Solis is the author of the Deficient series, young adult science fiction exploring power, identity, and belonging. The first book in the series, Deficient, was named a BookLife Editor's Pick and received a Reviewers' Choice Award from YADudeBooks. His work has also received nominations for the Pushcart Prize, the Stonewall Book Award, and the PEN/Hemingway Award. A former international humanitarian professional, he draws on nearly two decades of experience across Africa and Latin America in his writing. He is Executive Director of Writers & Books, a literary arts organization in Rochester, New York.