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  • Recruitment by K. a. Riley book cover
  • Recruitment by K. a. Riley book cover
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Recruitment

by K. a. Riley

A shared birthday marks the start of a war-bound mystery

$18.74 USD
$31.24 USD $18.74 USD
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AlbakiReads Editorial

A shared birthday marks the start of a war-bound mystery

In the Valta, November 1 is both everyone’s assigned birthday and the anniversary of a government declaration of war. Turning seventeen means being taken by the Recruiters, with no word afterward. Kress faces that threshold alongside her best friend and a boy she has long avoided. Recruitment begins with military and psychological tests, escape rooms, and hand-to-hand combat, but the recruits’ role in the war becomes harder to understand as training continues. The setup combines a regimented dystopian society with a closed training environment where the official explanation and the recruits’ experience do not neatly align. Kress’s trained raven, Render, is part of the life she must leave behind.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Teens and young adults interested in dystopian fiction
  • Readers who enjoy stories centered on recruitment, military training, and psychological tests
  • Readers looking for a young-adult story that combines war, friendship, and an unexplained system

Themes

State control and compulsory serviceWar and recruitmentFriendship and uncertainty

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

In the Valta, no matter what month you were born, everyone is assigned the same birthday. November 1st. It's the anniversary of the day when the government declared war on the Eastern Order. The day you turn seventeen, the Recruiters come to take you away. And no one ever hears from you again.

It's October 31st. Today, Kress is sixteen years old. Tomorrow, she'll be taken.

The good news? So will her best friend Cardyn, and Brohn, the handsome, enigmatic boy she's avoided all her life. The bad news? Recruitment isn't what any of them expected.

Weeks of training await. Military and psychological tests, escape rooms, hand-to-hand combat. The Recruits are told they're the key to winning the war. But with each day that passes, things begin to make less sense.

If only Kress had been able to bring her trained raven, Render, with her. If only none of them had ever had to come to this place.

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In-stock items normally dispatch within 1–2 business days. The ZIP-code estimator on this page is informational only; the final shipping method, price, and availability are confirmed at checkout for your full order.

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Customer reviews

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Malaika Taylor

I highly recommend to for anyone looking for inner clarity

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Great shopping experience! The book arrived quickly, was well packaged, and matched the description perfectly. I would definitely shop with you again

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