Young Adult Book Reviews

Genre: Futuristic Fiction

Jay and his friends and family feel very blessed to be able to work and live in the vacation oasis reserved for the wealthy and powerful because everyone knows how difficult life is outside the walls of this getaway. One day, however, his friend Connie and her family mysteriously move out in the middle of the night and he’s pretty sure it’s not her answering the texts on her phone. Meanwhile, he starts to notice changes around the resort. The patrons are getting meaner and never seem to go home. It even comes to their attention that the wealthy guests can shoot electric currents through employees using their employee bracelets. This sets an unfortunate imbalance of power that the guests seem to relish. Jay’s parents have also been reassigned to menial, back breaking jobs instead of the ones that qualified them to live in the oasis in the first place. Jay’s one wealthy friend, the heiress to the entire place, has been cold and different and he knows she knows more than she’s letting on about the current changes going on around them. Should he try to escape this place and take his chances outside the “protective” walls? Or, should he try to join the underground rebellion that is growing as the workers are treated worse and worse? Who can he trust and is the world really coming to an end all around them and they are too sheltered to know?

This book takes on many issues in a thrilling setting including race, class, climate change, and corporate control. Jay is the central figure, but there is a lot going on with his family and friends and he struggles sometimes to keep up with everything while still trying to keep himself safe in this increasingly unpredictable place. The ending is exciting and satisfying and will answer most of the questions, but will leave readers wanting to know more. Fans of futuristic fiction such as the Testing and Divergent will be instantly hooked by the unusual setting and unknown future of the characters.