When Ella's grandmother passed away, she was left to the care of the Society--an organization that raises exceptional girls to become perfect brides for the elite, upper class men of the world. When Ella comes of age, she is Selected by Hale, whose family is forcing him to chose a Society girl even though he doesn't believe in the system and wants to wait for real love. Hale and Ella make a pact to be friends, but this unconventional decision thrusts them into the spotlight of the world for daring to defy an organization that has been in power for centuries. However as they grow closer they develop romantic feelings for each other, and they must try and hide their love in order to keep their revolution alive--but their secret may be too big to keep. Will they ever be able to be normal, or will the world always see Ella as nothing more than a Society girl?

Delaney Escott lives in a world where popularity reigns supreme. If you want to be noticed, social status is everything. The government is run by the Superiors: a very exclusive group of individuals who are virtually flawless. They are smarter than us and stronger than us, and to join their ranks is the highest honor. The Superiors pay an annual visit to the top schools in the nation and evaluate the students, choosing one boy and one girl - the most Popular in the school - to go the Capitol and train for Superiority. Delaney thinks that she's the only one indifferent to (and perhaps even suspicious of) the Superiors, until Caleb Payne, the most popular boy in school, approaches her with a request. He has a task for her, one that he believes she is uniquely capable of completing. And as she helps him, Delaney discovers that the government is hiding many secrets - and that the truth of the Superiors is far from what people believe it to be. [Watty Awards 2012 Winner, Science-Fiction: On the Rise]