Breaking Sky

Chase Harcourt is “an excellent pilot. And, if she was being honest, kind of a crappy person.” Arrogant, impulsive, confrontational, and competitive, her promiscuity and brashness are bywords in the rec room of the Air Force’s United Star Academy, where she is the favorite cadet of the commanding officer, General Kale. (Fans of the Battlestar Galactica reboot will see more than a little Starbuck in Chase.) With her brilliant crewman Pippin, Chase flies the Dragon, an experimental Streaker jet and America’s fragile hope of countering the threat of the world’s only superpower, Ri Xiong Di. Only two Streakers exist—until Chase encounters a third one that no one in command will admit to. World War III and the pilot trials loom, but Chase focuses on one thing: proving that the third plane is out there. McCarthy (The Color of Rain) deploys breath-stopping depictions of high-stakes piloting with enviable ease, and the in-your-face personal confrontations are nearly as taut. Both will keep readers glued to the page. Ages 14–up. Agent: Sarah Davies, Greenhouse Literary Agency. (Mar.)