Perilous — Janet Edwards

Amber is one of over a million seventeen-year-olds in one of the great hive cities of twenty-sixth century Earth. She's worried that she only has a year left before she enters the Lottery of 2532 to have her abilities assessed. Lottery will decide her hive level, her profession, her whole future life. Amber fears that her lack of any obvious talent will mean she's sent down into the depths of the hive, but her friend, Forge, is addicted to taking risks. When Forge chooses exactly the wrong moment to put himself in danger, Amber must stop worrying about the future, and concentrate on surviving the present. Perilous is a prequel novella in the Hive Mind series.