The Always War by Margaret P. Haddix

The Always War begins in the United States, but not the United States that we are familiar with.  The population is at war - has been for about 80 years.  The best and brightest young people are chosen for military training around the age of 10.  Bombs are dropped by drones flown by remote control.  

(It made me think of a young adult version of Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card in this respect.)

Gideon has been declared a military hero for killing over a thousand enemies.  But he hacks into the general's recording of the hit and sees images of his bomb dropping on a marketplace full of women and children.  He is sickened and determines to fly into the enemy zone and apologize for his actions knowing that he will be arrested or killed.

All unwitting, he ends up with his neighbor Tessa and a young girl named Dek flying along with him in the plane.  Dek was called up for military school, but she found a way to get herself declared dead and has been working with the black market ever since.  Tessa tells you a number of times throughout the book that she is no one special.

These three, with their various skills make a discovery that changes the course of, not just the war, but the whole of their society.

I liked this book well enough that I picked up another book by the same author.

Kathi