While most post-apocalyptic tales have humanity living somewhere in space or on the barren lands of Earth, Above World poses a unique alternative.  Most of the inhabitants of this world are modified by technology, or tech, in some way.  This enables them to live in different settings, away from the violence and desolation of the land.  Aviars have wings and light bones to allow them to soar the skies while the Kampii have thick skin, breathing apparatus-necklaces, and the ability to grow tails that enable them to survive in the underwater City of Shifting Tides.  Aluna and Hoku are two Kampii teenagers, but at the rite-of-passage ceremony where Aluna is about to lose her legs and grow her tail, she abruptly decides to leave and explore the above world.  Recently, the Kampii’s breathing necklaces have begun to fail, but no one knows how to fix them, and the elders don’t want to admit that the solution might be found above the water.  So Aluna and Hoku decide to find out for themselves.  As they track down those responsible for the failing necklaces, they befriend the winged Avian and half-horse Equians.  They also realize a war is waging, controlled by one man obsessed with tech and with less than honorable intentions.  This is a fresh take on a futuristic society featuring a warrior heroine and her fighting friends. 

NetGalley Review   Publication date 2.14.12