Legal organ transplants are reserved for only the healthiest people.  Those that do not make the long government wait lists turn to the underground organ transplant “families”.  Penelope is the daughter of one of the mafia type families who obtain donor organs and for a price transplant into desperate patients.  There are a few families in the business that for the most part have a respectful rivalry.  Penelope has led a privileged but sheltered life because of a chronic disease that causes low platelets.  A bruise for a normal person could mean life threatening internal hemorrhage for her.  She yearns for more freedoms, a less controlling life and by golly, she gets it.  Her older brother is murdered, and then her parents are killed.  Now she is running for her life in the streets of New York.  Who can she trust?  People are not always as they seem.

While the plot twists are not so much of a surprise, the story is still quite engaging.  I liked watching sheltered Penny quickly grow into a resourceful, spunky force to be reckoned with.  The odds were certainly against her, but then it helps to have a personal connection with the vice president.  Nicely done and teens should enjoy this first entry to a new series.

eGalley review                     Publication date 5.19.15