In this speculative fiction story, KO Corporation is one of several across the world that is determined to work towards a better future. Each country/corporation made the decision that the first baby born on the first second of a single, determined new year would known as Hopes, coming together to work towards a united future.
Jackal Segura is the Hope of KO. There's a lot of pressure on her to succeed, but she enjoys her job and has a connected group of friends who all support each other. However, she's also in direct competition with her mother, who reveals a secret to Jackal one day that changes everything. When Jackal is involved in an accident that kills a number of people, she agrees to a sentence of solitary imprisonment. However, this isn't ordinary prison --- there's new technology that allows a person to be hooked into a medical monitoring system while their brain is put into a state that makes them feel they are in solitary confinement. They can serve an abbreviated sentence, all in their mind. Once she accepts this, Jackal is truly alone, serving out a sentence that will feel like years. When a decision is made to release all participants in this program, she's back into the real world. The problem is, in order to survive solitary confinement, Jackal had to leave everything and everyone she loved behind. How does she begin again, especially when her brain gives her occasional psychological flashbacks?
I have read this book several times and enjoy it each time. I like how the author crafts her sentences -- it's truly a pleasure to read. For example, Jackal's mother "has the temperament of a moray eel." Jackal's observations about herself and the people around her are insightful, and there's character growth through this story, which made it interesting. I also liked that this world is set up in a way that seems pretty believable, which makes the setting and people easier to relate to.
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