From I Am Number Four to Legend, the studio trend of jumping on pre-pub books continues, with Fox snapping up the rights to Black is the Color, an upcoming YA trilogy from Alexandra Bracken and Disney-Hyperion. Described as a dystopian near-future thriller, the story follows a sixteen-year old escapee from a “rehabilitation camp” who struggles to understand her (somewhat X-Men like) abilities as she tries to stay alive. Shawn Levy will produce through his 21 Laps banner, with Billy Rosenberg and Missy Foster overseeing development. The first book in the trilogy will hit shelves summer 2012
In the six years since being plucked from her old life and placed in a government-run “rehabilitation camp,” the only color that has entered sixteen-year-old Ruby’s world is the gray of the electric fence surrounding it. The mysterious “Kid-Killer” virus has left most American children dead, but Ruby is not one of them – she’s one of the dangerous ones, the ones who lived.
The ones who developed frightening powers of the mind.
When the opportunity to escape her camp comes, Ruby soon finds herself on the run and joining forces with a small band of other escapees: Zu, a mute girl who can telekinetically control electronics, Chubs, a skinny genius who doesn’t want another kid along to deplete their meager supplies, and Liam, the kind and good-hearted leader of their ragtag group who can move objects twice his size with the wave of a hand. They seem to be on a mission but won’t confide in Ruby, who only wants to learn to control her extraordinary ability which makes her a danger to anyone she gets close to.
The gang soon learns that there are other forces at work, organizations that want to use Ruby in their fight against the tyranny of the political regime. But they also learn there may be someone who can help them all reunite with their families after all: The Slip Kid, a leader who offers shelter to young people in danger and who possesses the secret to controlling one’s powers. As she finds herself drawn to Liam, Ruby becomes more and more desperate for the knowledge she has always craved. But the Slip Kid is not all that he seems, and Ruby soon finds herself unsure of who to trust…and who to love.
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