Marked at Birth?

   Have you ever thought that a birthmark might mean something? Most seem random but, what if there were countless people with that same mark? What could these mean?
    In Birthmarked by Caragh M. O'Brien, Gaia Stone, a sixteen year old midwife, is faced with a challenge. Her parents have been arrested and she has no clue why. All she knows is they are now inside the wall that separates their community from the city known as the Enclave. As she continues with her duties birthing babies and advancing the first three she delivers each month, she has lots of time to think. As she ponders the mystery behind her parents arrest she decides she must go where no one else has gone, inside the Enclave to rescue her parents.
    Once she is inside the city, things don't go quite as planned. As she herself get captured and must decipher a code that belonged to her mother. Trying to escape proved difficult for her, because of the scar that covered half her face. As she finds the truth behind her scar and the birthmarks she gave to each baby as it was born she will have to find herself.
    In this book one of the main issues is the government hiding all their actions. Gaia wanted to know why her parents were arrested and why the code was so important. The only response she was given simply stated, keep going and when you need to know you will. Many of the basic freedoms were taken away, because the government didn't want this society to end up like the last one, gone without a trace. But the government officials kind of forgot to mention this to the general public, so there is a lot of resistance against many laws. After I finished reading this book, I couldn't wait to read the sequel. It is very well written, with a balance of wit and suspense. This book does not have the "happy ending" instead, it sets the scene for the next book as the plot thickens and the story continues. I would give this book a solid A because, I could not put it down until I had read it cover to cover, twice.