Content levels
Trigger warnings
Positive tags
Heroine archetypes
Protagonist archetypes
Tropes
Themes
Synopsis
Never-before-told tales of action and adventure revealing the early days of Dark Angel!Los Angeles, 2019. Large sections of Tinseltown are in Richter-scale ruins in the aftermath of the Pulse and a devastating earthquake. Surviving among a ragtag pack of street kids, agile as a cat, and an expert thief, Max steals from the rich and gives to Moody, her mentor in crime and leader of the gang. But with no real family to speak of, Max longs for her missing "brothers and sisters" from Manticore, the covert agency with a sinister history of militaristic manipulation and control. By chance, Max sees a news story on TV about a dissident cyberjournalist in Seattle, known to everyone as "Eyes Only." The police are searching for his accomplice, a young rebel whose image flashes on the screen. Max immediately recognizes Seth, one of her Manticore siblings. She mounts her motorcycle and hightails it north. What she rides into is an elaborate web of betrayal, greed, revenge, and selfless heroism that will only further fuel her quest to uncover the secrets of her past--and seize hope for the future. . . .From the Paperback edition.
Is Before the Dawn appropriate for my child?
Suitable for most readers 13 and up.
Contains moderate action violence in a post-apocalyptic dystopian setting, with themes of government conspiracy and genetic manipulation. The protagonist is a genetically enhanced teen thief searching for her missing siblings.
What to know going in
This book has moderate violence, no sexual content, and moderate language. Content notes include violence, abandonment, and orphan (see the full list above).
Who'll love this
Teens will enjoy the motorcycle-riding heroine with superhuman abilities navigating a dangerous Los Angeles while uncovering secrets about her past.