A hundred and fifty years from now, parents will give up their children to the government at birth. This is due to mandatory DNA scanning that will determine every detail of the child: personality, talents, weaknesses, eye and hair color, and any disabilities. Parents then "shop" for the type of child they want. After they purchase their child, they raise that child as their own. The children that are not chosen by the age of three are deemed "the forgotten" and sentenced to a life of servitude to the government. This has been the way of the world for one hundred years. Fifteen year old Eris-6-11 is one of the Forgotten. Her life changes forever when she gets a chance to leave the Compound forever. Best Science Fiction rank: 75

Each baby born beneath the waves is killed--with one exception: the one hundred thousandth is spared. There's one rule shared between the island's tribes: don't touch the water. When Cressa-la breaks this law, her world, and body, changes. Sure, change is normal... but when has growing scales ever been normal? • • • Watty Award Winner 2015: Best Use of Visuals • • • Each baby born beneath the waves is killed--with one exception: the one hundred thousandth is spared. Among the spared, magic chooses a rare few, connecting them to the moon or sea. These are the One-Hundreds, mermaids and humans with the power to save the world-or corrupt it. When Cressa-la breaks the first rule of her tribe and touches the water surrounding her island, everything she knows turns on its head. Talking, sinister dolphins, mind control, and a whole world just under the waves await her on her eigteenth birthday... but she never asked for any of this. All she wanted was to become a Tribe Leader and take care of her village. It's amazing how one screw-up can change everything. A relentless darkness reaches for her, wanting her affections for his own twisted purposes. In opposition stands a fractured light, haunted by a painful past where corruption eroded friendship. Unless Cressa-la can bring the darkness to his knees and fight the war raging inside, the world is doomed. • • • Content warning: This story contains themes of depression and violence.