The Kid They Threw Away

Book excerpt: Twenty years into the future, a united collection of Mexican drug cartels are about to invade Arizona, led by a charismatic but psychotic leader. After years of intense and meticulous preparation, which included paying off or killing all the right people on either side of the border, the cartel is ready to make its move. Before the U.S. government can seal the border, hundreds of thousands of cartel men infiltrate the country as far north as Phoenix. Enter Mac, a ten-year-old boy with unlimited potential and incredible gifts to offer the world. But these gifts stem from an unthinkable childhood; he was molded by cruel and neglectful parents in an effort to enhance his unparalleled capabilities. The harsh tests inflicted by his parents consist of a series of elaborate punishments, seemingly inspired by Friedrich Nietzsche's quotation: "That, which does not kill us, makes us stronger." It is during one of these tests, stranded in the Mexican desert, that Mac stumbles upon an ancient codex by a pre-colonial Spanish philosopher, whose parched pages contain the secret to achieving a perfect utopian society out of a self-destructive mankind. Representing the inverse morality, the cartel will stop at nothing to destroy the codex and the child that holds it. The hunt is on. About the Author: Michael "Mac" Centuori is about to graduate from the University of Arizona with a degree in Latin American studies and a minor in Spanish. Raised in Phoenix, he now lives in Tucson. He is working on the sequel, The Throw Away Kids. Publisher's website: http: //www.sbpra.com/MichaelMacCentuori