The Friday 56 (With Book Beginnings): Slip (The Slip Trilogy #1) by David Estes

Welcome to The Friday 56, a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice.

These are the rules:

1. Grab a book, any book.

2. Turn to page 56, or 56% on your eReader.

3. Find any sentence (or a few, just don't spoil it) that grabs you.

4. Post it.

5. Add the URL to your post in the link on Freda's most recent Friday 56 post.

I'm also taking part in Book Beginnings, a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader.  The rules are pretty simple - you share the first sentence or so and your initial thoughts, impressions, or whatever else it inspires.  Don't forget to link up your post's url with Rose City Reader.

This week I'm spotlighting my current ebook read, Slip (The Slip Trilogy #1) by David Estes.  I'm currently about 18% of the way through novel, but I'm enjoying this new YA dystopian story.  This is my fourth title by David Estes and it certainly is promising so far, even just considering the two snippets below.  If you haven't checked out his work, I can't recommend it enough.

Book Beginning (opens with an article - the body of which is in full below as it really sets up the story):

Past article from the Saint Louis Times:

Controversial Population Control Decree Written Into Law

Since the cataclysmic natural events referred to globally as the Rise and the Fall, American lawmakers have discussed various ways to control the growing population to ensure sufficient resources for survival.  A five-year study has determined that the ideal economic and social population for the Reorganized United States of America is 504 million.  As our great country is on the verge of reaching our ideal population, a population control system will be instituted on the 5th of December this year.  Prior to pregnancy, all couples planning a family must register with the Department of Population Control of the Reorganized United States of America, and pay a nonrefundable processing fee.  After processing, each couple will receive a "pregnancy offset," which the media is casually referring to as a Death Match, someone who is likely to die in the near future.  Only when their Death Match has died will the couple be authorized for pregnancy and child-bearing, thus maintaining the population status quo.  This process has been coined Birth Neutrality, and is being referred to as "the cornerstone of our survival," by recently elected President Ford.  In the even of an unsuccessful pregnancy, the Death Match will be voided and provided to another couple in need of a match.  At that time, the couple may reapply and try again.  Punishment for non-compliance will fall under the jurisdiction of the newly established Department of Population Control, which has been nicknamed Pop Con.

56 (from page 250, at 56% of the ebook):

Michael Kelly hasn't left his office for hours, since the reports of the explosion on the outskirts of the city and the rumors of a failed attempt to apprehend the Slip.  His face is hot, flush with anger and frustration, even as his hands are cold and clammy with anxiety.