Bristles — Donna Callea

Humiliating haircuts and a life of oppression have been Bryssa's fate ever since her father died when she was nine. Dubbed Bristles by her stepmother, she's determined to escape from the city-state of Erba, where a wealthy few subjugate the vast, impoverished working class. Now sixteen, Bryssa's goal is to reach the forbidden Far-Land Forest-- her late mother's ancestral home. It's a place dominated by gigantic trees that somehow bestow unexplainable powers on some of those who dwell there. But fleeing Erba means leaving behind the boy who loves her, bristles and all. And returning means putting everything she's gained at risk. Inspired by elements of the Cinderella tale, Bristles is a young adult novel with dystopian and steampunk elements. But its underlying theme is freedom, and the power of those who yearn for it to do extraordinary things.