The+Declaration

Discussion page for //The Declaration//.

Great book but it is on the Isinglass list. Sharon Taylor Weeks Public Library Greenland NH

In the past, the selection committee has chosen to include titles that also appear on the Isinglass list. The committee recognizes that a book can appeal to both age groups. (That is a cut and paste from the main page.) //A futuristic adventure reminiscent of Kazuo Ishiguro's adult novel Never Let Me Go. Anna is a "Surplus," an illegally born child. In 2140, medical breakthroughs have enabled eternal life, so there is no room in the world for children. Those, like Anna, who are born illegally are raised in Surplus Halls, where they are taught how to "Know Their Place" and become "Valuable Assets." Anna is grateful for her home in the freezing cold Surplus Hall, for her tiny shares of bad food and for the teachers who give her the skills she will need after graduation when she will work in forced labor for "Legal People." But Anna's comfortable world of Knowing Her Place is disrupted when a new Surplus arrives, a boy named Peter who claims to bring messages from Anna's parents. Peter challenges everything Anna has ever believed about society, nature and morality. Anna's adventure is well worth reading; this unreliable narrator's faith in her tormentors is thought-provoking and deeply sad. (Science fiction)// This book kept me reading. The merits are that it could appeal to either sex, it is sci-fi/futuristic, and younger teens could also enjoy it. I realize it is on the Isinglass list this year, but is still is a very good read. The cover of the book is terrible. I can't imagine a teen picking it up without prompting as it looks so dull. I think this book is worth considering for the final 13 because of the literary merit. ~Kathy Watson, Kimball Library