Brain Slaves — Richie Chevat

For sixteen-year-old Nelly Kidd, school doesn't mean teachers or homework or studying. Instead, like all students in Bridgetown, she and her classmates are plugged directly into the Net and lessons are downloaded into their brains. Sounds easy, but there's one catch â€" the lessons are painful and dangerous. Plus, there's always the chance you might get fried â€" that a lesson will scramble your brain or put you in a coma or even kill you. Nelly and her friends have no choice but suffer through this, week after week. That's why they call themselves Brain Slaves.

Then one day, while in the trance of a lesson, Nelly hears a voice and meets a handsome teen named Cal Stone who teaches her how to use the Net to learn anything she wants, pain-free. Together, they hatch a plan to free all of the brain slaves of Bridgetown. Awkward and unsure at first, Nelly uses the Net to transform herself into a determined and resourceful fighter, learning martial arts, parkour and ninja techniques. Going from one dangerous escapade to the next, Nelly becomes the leader of a motley group of rebellious teens and begins an unexpected relationship with Hector Suarez, a dropout and gang leader.

Brain Slaves is the first of three books in an actionâ€"packed adventure trilogy filled with romance, excitement and humor, with an intriguing cast of teens and a brave and gritty young heroine at its core.