Rating: 5/5
Terry has just turned 7 and is going to start "school." He has grown up in an underground city and does not know that when he goes to school he will never see his mother and sister again. Once there, he begins to learn more about his city and the world around them. 200 years previously, almost the entire population of the earth was wiped out by a gas called Variant. The survivors built an underground society that is now deteriorating. Going to the surface will become necessary soon. Terry is different than most children in the fact that he has been genetically engineered to be able to breathe the Variant gas. Although he does not know it, he spends his childhood being trained to one day go above ground. He and his classmates are humanity's last hope for survival.
I absolutely loved this book! I love dystopian anyway, but this one was pretty unique. The story is told over many years as Terry grows into a young adult.
I am always fascinated by how dystopian societies are structured and this society is really quite interesting (I would have enjoyed learning more about it). There are three main classes of society, the Motherhood. the Science Branch, and the Military branch. The children are taken to a boarding school at the age of seven years and given a basic education. Then they are placed into a branch based on a large variety of factors. We don't really get a good look at the "normal" process though, since Terry and his classmates are destined for a very specific and unique career.
I really enjoyed the book the most once Terry actually went to the surface. Things picked up quite a lot at that point and I was really eager to find out what happened.
It did take me a while to adjust to the writing style but once I was about halfway, I started being unable to put the book down. The character development was a little slow for me and the pace was a little odd.
The ending was really fantastic - a great resolution and I am definitely quite eager to find out what happens next :-)
Violence: None//Mild/Medium/Heavy/Extreme - The kids take weapons to the surface for protection against any of the known and unknown threats they might face. There is some killing that happens when they are on the surface (both animals and people). These scenes might be disturbing to some young readers. In addition, there are some disturbing discussions in the beginning about the genetic engineering process. The mothers experience multiple miscarriages and the experiments are definitely morally and ethically questionable.
Profanity: None/Mild/Medium/Heavy/Extreme - The language in this book is very mild. A few curse words here and there but nothing excessive.
Sexuality: None//Mild/Medium/Heavy/Extreme - No sexuality, no kissing, almost no mention of romantic relationships. The society is fairly strictly structured.
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