In this high-stakes, adrenaline-inducing thriller by Emily Lloyd-Jones (The Wild Huntress), an 18-year-old hacker in the near future must face off against a group of cyberterrorists.
A 15-year-old's hack goes fatally wrong and she's given a choice: face the consequences or be declared dead and work for the government under a new identity. Three years later, "Augusta Pine" is still working for the Identity Security Division as a wraith, an undercover agent who is able to "ghost through the world" as she helps the agency track down rampant identity fraud. Her only companions are her dry-witted adult handler, Prefect, and Edgar, an illegal sentient AI spybot in the form of a bumblebee. When her next assignment is in her home city, she jumps at the opportunity to stealthily check on her Nonna. However, a group of cyberterrorists takes over Nonna's building, demanding the return of valuable government intelligence--"Project Persephone"--and Augusta's new mission is to protect the asset (and Nonna) from the cyberterrorists at all costs.
Augusta Pine Does Not Exist thrusts readers into a pulse-pounding hostage crisis that is as emotionally gripping as it is action packed. Lloyd-Jones provides glimpses into Augusta's previous jobs by including snippets from a case-study file throughout, as well as transcripts from her current mission. These interstitials not only help with character development but also propel the story forward, acting as suspenseful breaks between moments of intense activity. This electrifying excitement pairs well with Lloyd-Jones's astute explorations of survivor's guilt, PTSD, socioeconomic disparity, and found family. This YA spy thriller is exhilarating and suspenseful. --Lana Barnes, freelance reviewer and proofreader