See the Cover of Chloe Gong’s Cyberpunk Novel ‘Coldwire’ (Exclusive)

Chloe Gong is back and better than ever.

The bestselling author will publish her cyberpunk novel, Coldwire, this fall, and PEOPLE has an exclusive first look. The book is the first in a new dystopian series by the writer, 26, forthcoming from Margaret K. McElderry Books.

Coldwire, per a synopsis shared with PEOPLE, is set in a futuristic society run by virtual reality. Citizens who can afford the best living subscription dwell in the “upcountry,” where a war rages between the Medaluo and Atahua nations, while those who don’t have the dough live in “downcountry.” Medan orphans living in Atahua are required to enroll in the Nile Military Academy.

Eirale, an academy graduate now part of NileCorps’ private forces, finds her life altered when she’s framed for killing a government official, and must decide between joining a wanted anarchist to search for a dangerous Medan program or get arrested for treason. At the same time, Lia, a student at Nile, is attempting to get through the school year when she and her academic rival are tasked with taking down a traitor.

Eirale and Lia embark on their own journeys across two different realities, but soon come to see their connections to a larger conspiracy, as well as each other.

“I’ve wanted to write cyberpunk for years and years — both because I love the genre and because there is so much about it that I couldn’t wait to subvert,” Gong tells PEOPLE of her latest novel. “Building the world for Coldwire has been such an adventure and I’m incredibly excited to bring readers ‘upcountry’ where there are secrets and conspiracies galore to be discovered.”

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Gong has been a beloved author within the young adult genre ever since she published her 2020 debut, These Violent Delights, when she was just 21. The Romeo and Juliet fantasy retelling, set in 1920s Shanghai, debuted at No. 3 on the New York Times YA bestseller list, with its sequel, 2021’s Our Violent Ends, coming in at No. 1. Since then, Gong also published her Lady Fortune Lady and Flesh and False Gods series.

Gong has received praise for uplifting Asian and LGBTQ+ characters within the fantasy genre, where they’ve previously been underrepresented.

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“There’s not enough out there, I think, where a certain racial or core identity is the character’s backstory,” Gong told PEOPLE in a 2022 interview. “And then their plot line is just completely unrelated — about fighting monsters and falling in love. I think that’s something that everyone wants to read about.”