Young writer pens first book; Hartlaub releases debut novel

Bryn Cespedes, Reporter

     Lincoln Hartlaub is a freshman writer who published his first novel on July 1, 2022. Hartlaub’s book is titled The Novus, which is a dystopian novel based in a fictional world.  The book’s setting is in Pura City, where citizens’ lives are determined by a test. Depending on their scores they will either be a slave, a regular citizen, or a member of the “all powerful Magna Council,” says Hartlaub. The main character, Alice, finds herself with a perfect score, meaning she is now a part of the council. Alice is unhappy with this result, but she realizes her best friend’s score is worse. “[Alice] discovers her best friend, Amica, managed to take last place in test scores, which forces her into a life of slavery,” says Hartlaub. Alice can’t live with the fact that her friend is a slave, so she takes it upon herself to free her by “bargaining with the megalomaniac leader of Pura City,” Hartlaub states.