What's the Name of That Book??? discussion

My friend (who is not on Goodreads) is looking for a novel she read in her freshman year of high school (she's now a university senior) and her memory of the book's details are, sadly, very few. She's recruited me to assist her, and while I've attempted many Google searches using various keyword and phrase combinations, I haven't come up with much of anything. Hopefully someone can help. The few details she can recall are as follows:

- The protagonist is female, and her father relocates the two of them to a new country, which is something like a desert colony. Water may or may not be rationed.

- People wear purple to signify mourning.

- The protagonist has a bodyguard who is secretly a member of a revolution, and was supposed to kill the protag and her father, but the protag falls in love with him.

- She remembers it coming out around the same time as the novel Graceling by Kristin Cashore, so around 2008 - possibly in the fall?

I know it's not much in the way of detail, but that's all she can remember. Nothing about the title, author, or even character names. We're both kind of desperate to figure this out, so any help would be greatly appreciated!

It's been a long time since I read it, but I immediately thought of General Winston's Daughter.

Ashley wrote: "It's been a long time since I read it, but I immediately thought of General Winston's Daughter."

She says that's it! Thank you so very much!

You're welcome =)