Rachel Byrne’s debut Young Adult novel, Predestined, starts with an Adolf Hitler quote: “He alone, who owns the youth, gains the future.” That haunting sentence sets the stage for what’s to come.

A Colorado native, Byrne has built a career in psychiatry, addictive medicine and teaching, attesting to her understanding of human behavior, a skill well-used in Predestination.

Lina Jamison is a handful, a 16-year-old girl whose parents have become accustomed to calls from the school about one issue or another. Her little sister is an all-too-perfect ballet-dancing princess, and her parents are an ex-frat boy and a mom who spends time at the country club. They’ve got everything figured out and float through their lives with a grace, confidence, and style that Lina simply doesn’t possess. She’s an outcast in her own family, and her biggest plan is to get a summer job as a counselor to make a little cash and have unlimited access to the climbing wall. And to maybe not get in quite so much trouble.

That all changes when a brochure arrives at the house. It’s a rare invitation for Lina to attend the elite summer institute of Haverford Pines Academy. The list of graduates from this program includes senators, highly decorated military officials, famous actors and skilled athletes. Not a failure among them.

Which only makes Lina question her invitation. As someone who can’t stick to her own goal of not getting in trouble her freshman year of high school, and who has no discernible skill set that would earn such an invitation, it makes no sense that the academy nestled in the Colorado Rockies would want anything do with her.

All her parents see, though, is what this might add to their social caché.

Not given a choice, Lina packs up and heads to Haverford Pines while the rest of her family traipse off on a trip of their own. At first, her biggest problem appears to be getting on the wrong side of a couple of fellow students, who make it their mission to make her life miserable. However, it quickly becomes clear that there’s something sinister going on at the academy, and that it goes higher up than she could imagine. Her every move is tracked and some of her friends turn into completely different people who seem to share a disturbing mindless dedication to the school.

Lina and a small group of friends who have avoided the brainwashing are forced to take matters into their own hands and find a way to reveal the dastardly real mission of the school while protecting their own lives.

Lina is a flawed character who can be hard to like in the beginning. She brings a lot of her issues onto herself through questionable decisions and troubling actions. But behind it all is a good heart and the inclination to protect others. Though she often acts hastily without thinking through her choices, she proves she does have a place at the academy and the determination to create a future with her physical skills. Ultimately, she grew on this reader, despite some early frustrations with her behavior and thought process.

The plot of Predestined moves quickly, and a great cast of side characters helps carry it. Lina’s friends at Haverford include an athlete, a brainiac, a computer whiz, a beauty and an upper classman. Among them, they forge a partnership with the innate skills that will keep them alive as they work to figure out what exactly is happening behind the scenes. The characters are well developed, a tribute to Byrne’s background in psychiatry, and Lina isn’t the only character to show vast improvement and growth through the course of the story.

The line between good and evil seems clear at first, but rude awakenings are on their way, showing that, just as in real life, you never know what’s really happening in someone else’s mind or what their true intentions may be.

There’s a very real peril to students not toeing the line at Haverford Pines Academy, and this makes for a thrilling adventure heightened with science fiction elements. With no way to tell who they can really trust, Lina and her friends have only themselves to rely on, showing the power in their mixed dynamic.

A mystery threads itself through the pages, revealing sinister surprises and twists. All the while, Lina finds herself fighting to keep alive when bullies come for her, repeatedly putting her in danger and drawing her into battles on multiple fronts.

I had a couple of nitpicks with the book, such as Lina continuously referencing icons and entertainment of the past with which contemporary young adult readers might have no familiarity, as well as some details or premises that I didn’t feel were as clear or logical as they needed to be. But Predestined is an entertaining read and a promising debut novel hinting at great things to come by this author.

Primarily aimed at young adults, the story speaks to all ages, and hits similar notes to books like the Harry Potter series and Divergent, while wrapping in the dark elements of a powerful secret society. It’s a tribute to friendship, self-discovery and trusting yourself, and sends the message that everyone is worthwhile and skilled in some way.

Overall, the world building creates a believable and troubling space. The believability of the characters and the rapidly moving plot kept me engaged and eager to see it through to the end. I would happily revisit the cast of characters if there were future sequels.