Books for teens - reviews and other stuff

This sequel to "The Declaration" continues the story of Peter and Anna. They are now living in the suburbs of London in 2140. Life for them is not easy, there are few other young people living as "Longevity" has enabled people to live forever. The cost of this is that no children are allowed to be born. Those that are born are declared surplus and removed from their parents. Only replacements are allowed, and as Peter and Anna's parents died they are now legals. Peter is working for his grandfather at Pincent Pharma the manufacturer of Longevity, Anna is at home looking after her baby brother Ben.

The time for Peter and Anna to sign their declarations is fast approaching, but they have mixed feeling about this. Signing the Declaration will allow them to receive Longevity and live forever, not signing will condemn them to a normal life span but they will be ostracised by the rest of society. Anna is against signing but Peter is convinced by his grandfather that they are no longer able to have children therefore not signing seems pointless. Peter is involved with the underground resistance movement and gradually becomes concerned by some things happening at the factory, Anna is arrested for planning to help surpluses. On the scene comes Jude, half brother of Peter, he is an IT whiz and discovers a few secrets about the factory too. They all manage to get themselves caught up in an underground action to embarrass Pincent Pharma but in so doing they reveal the true nature of "LongevityPlus" the next wonder drug.. They manage to expose this to the media and make good their escape, Peter and Anna retire to country obscurity and Jude joins the underground.

Like its sequel, this title may inspire much classroom discussion for secondaries on the value of life, use of resources and ethics in general

Set somewhere in the future, but not so far that life doesn't resemble ours. In this time "The Declaration" has been signed meaning that in return for "Longevity" drugs citizens give up the right to have children. Selected people may have a child. The unwanted or illegal children are "surplus" and have no rights. They are imprisoned in a "training centre" and face a future of subservience. Anna is a surplus she has lived at Grange Hall for as long as she can remember. She is a prefect and apart from keeping an illegal journal she is a good surplus. Into her world comes Peter. He is full of stories about who she is and where her parents are and astonishing for her that they love her and want her back with them. At first in fear she dismissed Peter but overhearing talk of his being killed by injection she joins him in an escape plan. It works well initially and she is reunited with her parents and baby brother, Ben. But "The catchers" find the family and her parents make the ultimate sacrifice for Anna and Ben to be able to stay free. It is legal to replace someone who has died. Peter is also saved when he learns from his grandfather that his mother has killed his father. The knowledge of who his family is causes him to break all ties to them. Anna, Ben and Peter face a new future together - free and hoping to change the world to one where children are welcome and people do not live forever.
There is a sequel"The Resistance"

An interview with Gemma Malley about the book
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQI39dAejYA

A trailer for the film
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPlF11PcFi0

This is a fantastic tale from the author who excels in this field. His characters all hail from the unlikely, but perform well to produce a tale with a moral for us all. Darius is a boy who attempts to save his family's name. Every generation his family must give "The Bell Gift" to the city council to continue to live in their house and occupy their lands. As time has passed the Bell family fortune has declined - the property has become rundown and no income is being generated because Darius' father is too generous and charges no monetary rent from his tenants, they pay in goods or services. There can be no gift of any significance. Darius finds something which might achieve the required status but all his best efforts fail to achieve his aim. His father presents a barrow load of vegetables to the city and this meets the obligation from the family. Darius' gift is also given, but out of love, his Glitter Pool. It is a marvellous gift and well received by all the citizens.

For more information about this book, to order see teacher notes and other reviews go to:
http://www.allenandunwin.com/default.aspx?page=94&book=9781741757163

I have just finished reading this book and really enjoyed it. It deals with the issues of survivor guilt in 2 instances in the one family under differing circumstances. It also considers the problem of making assumptions about people and where that can lead.
Harry and his parents are still dealing with the death of his younger brother Joel from cystic fibrosis when they head to the country for a weekend wedding of Uncle Frank a Vietnam veteran. Frank is a hero in his community but Harry discovers the secret he has been hiding for forty years. In turn he himself becomes a hero when he rescues a young wedding guest from certain death in a flooding drain. His surly cousin becomes his friend and his parents help him deal with the secret he has been hiding about his brother's death. By the time they return from their trip the family has corrected all their wrong assumptions about Frank and also those surrounding Joel's death and can now move on with their lives.

For more information on this and other topics of interest go to my Blog:
Lorene's Stuff:
http://lorene.edublogs.org/
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