Storm Thief by Chris Wooding

YAY NO ROMANCE IN A YA BOOK! And yes, I had to type that in caps. Do you know how hard it is to find a non-romantic book? As far as I see, Rail and Moa (our two protagonists), are best friends, but there's nothing more to their relationship.

The story is set in Orokos, a city that is not only segregated, it's also afflicted with something called Probability Storms which mixes up the lives of the citizens. For example, after a probability storm, Rail lost the ability to breathe, and has to wear a respirator all the time now. Because of that, the Probability Storm is colloquially called the Storm Thief (hence the title of the book).

One day, Rail and Moa are find a strange artifact among the others they are tasked to steal, and they end up on the run when Rail impulsively decides to keep it from the their mistress.

Orokos is an interesting city. They're under despotic rule, and they prefer it. Also they're segregated according to class. I wish that I could learn more about the city, but this isn't a "political" novel, so all we're left with is intriguing bits of information. I'd love to read more about the power structure of the city.

As for characters, Rail and Moa steal the show with their friendship. There are other important characters like Bane (the head of the secret police) and Finch (the boy sent to kill the two) and Vago (the Gollum), but by and by, I was just interested in Rail and Moa. They're fairly opposite in personality (think of Moa as having a sunny personality and Rail as cynical), but they complement each other quite well.

All in all, this is a really interesting YA dystopian book. It's unlike most of what's being published nowadays, so if you're sick of the standard fare, you should give this book a read.