Nova

Lia Johansen is 16 years old and alone and has recently been rescued with other refugees from the invasion that left her planet in tatters. Her parents are dead, and she has no memories of anything except her name and her mission. Lia is a human bomb, and she is programmed to blow up the space station in 36 hours. The protagonist assumes that she is a clone or, perhaps, a robot because she has no memories of a past at all, until she meets Michael, a boy who seems to know her. The ticking clock looms large until, suddenly, it stops: she is a dud. Unable to jump-start the device, Lia begins to feel that maybe she has a second chance and, possibly, a future. Her friendship with Michael deepens, and she makes other friends—so when the clock randomly begins to tick off the minutes and seconds, Lia is uncertain that she wants to continue to the end of her mission. If she goes to Nova, she will die alongside all her new companions. Teens will understand Lia's reluctance to give up her newly discovered friends and may make a connection between suicide bombers of today and the mission with which she has been tasked. This work will hold readers' attentions until the surprising end.