City of Ants

They call it el hormiguero--the ant hill--miles of half-standing tents pitted with subterranean tunnels residents escape into during the heat of the day. Rising up in the middle of the compound, behind thick brick walls and barbed wire, stands the city, one of the last few vestiges of human civilization.

For Ranza, anyone in el hormiguero could be prey. The only person who matters is her younger brother Chico, who is afflicted by a strange condition that leaves him choking for breath during any kind of strenuous activity. When Chico suffers an attack and is taken away by soldiers from the city, Ranza will do anything to get him back, even if it means making a deal with Abuela, the matriarch of the most brutal gang in all of el hormiguero.

Kal has lived his entire life in the city and has no reason to ever leave, but when the girl he loves crushes his heart, he enlists with the Civilian Military. He is not prepared for the heat, the dirt that seems to find its way into everything, the brutishness of the people he is supposed to be helping, or the casual bigotry thrown around by his fellow soldiers. When he reaches out to show some compassion to another person, he is taught a savage lesson about human cruelty.

Though neither has a reason to trust the other, Ranza and Kal are thrown together and forced to cooperate to prevent a tragedy that could upend the fragile relationship between their two peoples. But not even they can anticipate the forces gathering from afar that could destroy them all.