Broken: Book 1

by Braxton A. Cosby

American Legacy Book Awards Finalist: Science Fiction – Post-Apocalyptic

In a time of a failed One-world-order economy, the only viable currency is a human one.

It is 2035, and the path of Earth’s inevitable destruction has finally been realized. Efforts to perfect weapons of mass destruction and subsequently destroy one another have come to a head. The most powerful countries engage in an all-out nuclear assault. The time of The Big Drop nearly banishes everyone to death in the wake of destructive Fallout. Humanity devolves back to its carnal heritage of slavery to re-establish currency through the slave trade.

Nobody knows who started it, but the devastation ravages every organic life form, both plant and animal. 90% of human life is wiped out. Of the 10% that survive, radiation poisoning has varying effects on the human genome. It creates mindless beasts called Ashers and beings with special gifts – Alphas. As humanity struggles to survive, migrating to the safety of continental coastlines in search of fresh water, the planet scurries to salvage some kind of economic stability.

Enter 16-year-old Keesa Donovan and her younger brother Kiran. They live out their lives in a slave pod run by The Establishment, just outside Savannah, Georgia. Losing everything she loved after the Fallout, she desperately seeks freedom while navigating the trials of teenhood, sifting through emerging feelings for her best friend Wynn, and realizing the growing attraction for newcomer Dobbs. Confounded by her gift of ESP, she is haunted by unexplainable visions of mysterious days to come, holding onto a sliver of hope that she and her brother will be freed one day. But on the fateful day of the annual Reckoning, Keesa’s life takes a turn as fate forces her onto the narrow road of her destiny.

BEST BOOK FALL 2022 TOP PLACE FINISHER FOR FICTION > YA > DYSTOPIAN

“I flew through the last 100 pages as the story mounts to a climax, with a thrilling ending that beautifully leads into a much-anticipated sequel in this young adult post-apocalyptic series.” – LITPICK

“Wow! Just wow! I read this book in a few hours…an immediate bestseller, a book worth making a movie…asides from the plot being flawless…Each chapter ends on the most anticipating point, making it impossible to stop reading.” – ONLINE BOOK CLUB.ORG

“…a beautiful book with such a strong sense of relatability, as personified by Keesa. She is skillfully portrayed as a youngster who finds herself in challenging circumstances while experiencing a range of emotions that she is attempting to understand. Readers of all genres should read Broken.” – READERS FAVORITE

“The author creates a dreary setting in this gritty post-apocalyptic story. I could really feel the despair and hopelessness of the characters’ lives. I find this emotional depth often lacking in other young adult books, but I really enjoyed how this story embraces that darkness and colors the world in austere shades that make the story feel authentic, if bleak. This is a dark and disturbing dystopian world that is enthralling. There were several intriguing details that made my skin crawl. The author does an excellent job of conveying this in the writing, and I enjoyed every bit of it.” – LITERARY TITAN