Kan det vara Vindsångaren ( Les Secrets d'Aramanth )?
Detärdenförstabokenpå Vind i brand (översatt till franska som Le Vent de Feu ) trilogin av William Nicholson, publicerad 2000 - 2003. Jag har inte läst böcker själv, men det nämns i den här Reddit-tråden , och Wikipedia-beskrivningen är mer eller mindre i linje med din.
Huvudpersonerna är Kestrel och Bowman, och de bor i en stad som heter Aramanth. Det har faktiskt färgseparation baserat på merit * all tonvikt min):
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"annan färg"
Using a system based on colour classifications, the governing Examiners dictate what people can wear, where they can live and what jobs they can do. The levels are grey, maroon, orange, scarlet and white, with grey the lowest and white the highest.
Eller från en annan webbsida :
The book tells the story of how a sister and brother (Kestrel and Bowman Hath), and their stinky classmate Mumpo, dare to challenge the oppressive social order that operates in the walled city of Aramanth.
Under this system, families can move up and down the social scale depending on their children's success (or otherwise) in school examinations, and on the parents' success (or otherwise) in their careers. High achievement brings not just prestige, but promotion up the colour-coded, socio-economic ladder - from the low-rent tenements of Grey District up through Maroon, Orange and Scarlet to the very topmost district of all, ie White.
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Gå på ett äventyr, och så småningom konfrontera några onda varelser:
This sets in motion a chain of events that eventually results in Kestrel, Bowman and a mentally challenged boy called Mumpo escaping from the city and going on a quest to save their people from an evil entity known as the Morah, which controls a numberless army of malevolent and deadly beings called the Zars.