FINALIST FOR THE NEBULA AND LODESTAR AWARDS • LOCUS AWARD WINNING AUTHOR • "MASTERFULLY CRAFTED."—Axie Oh, New York Times bestselling author of The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea

* "THRILLING." —Booklist, starred review

EVEN GRAVITY COMES AT A PRICE.

In a society where conformity is valued above all else, a teen girl training to become an Imperial pilot is forced to return to her rebel roots to save her world in this adrenaline-fueled sci-fi adventure—perfect for fans of Iron Widow and Skyward!

Hwa Young was just ten years old when Imperial forces destroyed her rebel moon home. Now, six years later, she is a citizen of the very empire that made her an orphan. 

Desperate to shake off her past, Hwa Young dreams of becoming a lancer pilot, one of an elite group of warriors who fly into battle using the empire’s most advanced tech—giant martial robots. When an attack on their boarding school leaves Hwa Young and her classmates stranded on an Imperial space fleet in dire need of pilot candidates, she is quick to volunteer. 

But training is nothing like she expected, and secrets—like the ominous fate of the fleet’s previous lancer squad—are stacking up. And when Hwa Young uncovers a conspiracy that puts their entire world at risk, she’s forced to make a choice between her rebel roots and an empire she’s no longer sure she can trust.