Ginny is one of seven applicants in a survival assessment inside a simulated reality world. The applicants are equipped with a supply of food, techsuits sporting everything from wrist lights to glide-wing membranes, and special powers made possible due to the digital nature of the test. They chose these abilities by selecting elements to go without, resulting in “forgones” such as no fear, no pain, or no sickness. Ginny chose no memory.
Without any ability to remember who she is or what she’ll win by reaching the end of the assessment, teaming up with the others is Ginny’s only hope to get past quicksand, forest fires, earthquakes, and tsunamis as they journey to an island to pass the test. But their already perilous expedition is complicated by a leadership crisis, a menacing hooded figure unexpectedly on their trail, and the revelation that one wrong move will not only result in failure but death in the real world.
Desperate to discover her past and the reason she thought a memory wipe would help her pass the test, Ginny is hesitant to trust the others and questions what compelled her to apply for the assessment in the first place. But when her budding romance is crushed as forbidden and her hope of success is all but forsaken, she discovers that her greatest asset is what she has forgone.
Forgone is a young adult science fiction novel similar to Nemesis by Brendan Reichs and The Echo Room by Parker Peevyhouse. It will appeal to fans of Unearthed by Ami Kaufman and Megan Spooner as well as The Sandcastle Empire by Kayla Olson. Join the newsletter to receive updates on its future publication.(No spam! Your email address will not be traded or sold.)
Development Milestones
- First draft: Establish story based on outline
- Second draft: Major rewrite
- Third draft: Character reworking
- Fourth draft: Major rewrite
- Fifth draft: Description reworking
- Sixth draft: Additional tweaks and light edit
- Seventh draft: Major rewrite
- Eighth draft: Additional tweaks and light edit