Secrets in the Mist by Morgan Busse

 

Back Cover: In a world where humanity lives in the sky to escape a deadly mist below, Cass’s only goal is survival. That is, until she finds a job on the airship Daedalus as a diver. Now she explores ruined cities, looking for treasure and people’s lost heirlooms until a young man hires her to find the impossible: a way to eradicate the Mist.

Theodore Winchester is a member of one of the Five Families that rule the skies. Following in his father’s footsteps, he searches for the source of the Mist and hopes to stop the purges used to control overpopulation. But what he finds are horrifying secrets and lethal ambition. If he continues his quest, it could mean his own death.

The Mist is rising and soon the world will be enveloped in its deadly embrace, turning what’s left of humanity into the undead.

Review: How to describe this book.... crazy dystopian zombie thriller? If you liked "Maze Runner" you'll love this book. 

In short, the world (I think it's ours but then again, I'm not sure...), is taken over by a massive war. One side decides that the best way to end it is by using a bioweapon on the otherside. Unfortunately, the bioweapon is a LOT stronger than anyone intends and the virus takes over the human body, kills it, then inhabits it as a walking, feeding entity until the body rots away. The virus is contained in a mist, and everything except the highest peaks and the floating sky islands is covered in the mist. If a human so much as takes a single breath of the mist they are done for. 

This story starts out a couple hundred years post-war and the mist is slowly but steadily rising. The amount of available land in the world is shrinking dramatically and survival is getting impossible to eek out. The upper class (Literally, those living higher up on the mountain) force Purges where they drive the lower classes into the mist to make more room. Cass' parents are forced into the mist after hiding their only daughter. Now alone and with literally nothing, Cass is left to try and survive on her own. 

By a dramatic twist of fate, she lands up employeed on an airship and is given the dangerous job of a diver. With a knack for flying, she quickly becomes skilled at soaring through the currents and begins to dives into the deadly mist (with a filtered mask to keep her safe).... and then things start getting REALLY exciting. 

This was a really creative story with a lot of unique elements. I have to admit that I've never read a book like this before. It caught me off guard by how different it was from what I normally read but I also really enjoyed it. I'm looking forward to reading book 2!