PARCHED

Tess falls in love with a human-like robot, but then discovers he is also the world's deadliest weapon-- a weapon she must destroy.

Sixteen-year-old Tess's mother-- the brilliant Dr. Beth Rockwood-- introduced the world to artificial intelligence, creating a robot that had complex thoughts and emotions. The experiment, however, went terribly wrong. Though her creation was capable of behaving like a human, it lacked a conscience and eventually sought autonomy. Unable to control her design, Tess's mother was murdered by her own creation. Alone and with nothing to lose, Tess cuts herself off from anything connected to artificial intelligence and the terrible memory of her mother's death. That is, until a teen rebel group hunts Tess down and persuades her to help them destroy the government's re-designed fleet of robot soldiers, known as Project Aevum. Working with the rebel group, Tess meets-- and falls for-- the insightful, kind, and mysterious Hunter. But when Tess discovers Hunter is Project Aevum, and that Project Aevum was created to destroy millions of lives, Tess is forced to weigh love against morality and learns she must face her past if she is to save the future. Georgia Clark is originally from Sydney, Australia. Her first novel, She's With The Band, was published by Allen & Unwin in 2008. She is also a comedy performer and screenwriter.