Waiting on Wednesday--Freakling, by Lana Krumwiede

Perhaps, like me, you have a twelve-year old boy kicking around the house who is a picky reader of frustrating randomness, and you are always looking for books that might, just possibly, appeal (and books with gears on the cover seem especially hopeful). Perhaps, like me, you like stories in which children are exiled to rural communities for fantastical/science fictional reasons. Perhaps (yes, like me again), you enjoy dystopias, but are tired of the obligatory romance element.

If you answered yes to the above, I am confident that you, like me (last time I'm saying that) will look forward to Freakling, by Lana Krumwiede, coming in early October from Candlewick.

From Goodreads:

"A thrilling, fast-paced dystopian novel about the dangers of unchecked power and the dilemmas facing a boy torn between two ways of life.

In twelve-year-old Taemon’s city, everyone has a power called psi—the ability to move and manipulate objects with their minds. When Taemon loses his psi in a traumatic accident, he must hide his lack of power by any means possible. But a humiliating incident at a sports tournament exposes his disability, and Taemon is exiled to the powerless colony.

The "dud farm" is not what Taemon expected, though: people are kind and open, and they actually seem to enjoy using their hands to work and play and even comfort their children. Taemon adjusts to his new life quickly, making friends and finding unconditional acceptance.

But gradually he discovers that for all its openness, there are mysteries at the colony, too—dangerous secrets that would give unchecked power to psi wielders if discovered.

When Taemon unwittingly leaks one of these secrets, will he have the courage to repair the damage—even if it means returning to the city and facing the very people who exiled him?"

Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine