Neva lives in the Protectosphere – a dome that encases the Homeland to keep people safe from what's outside. Having turned sixteen Neva, Ethan (her boyfriend), Sanna (her best friend) and Braydon (Sanna's boyfriend) are all now considered adults and expected to have children and help the Homelands population crisis. But, they've all taken a vow of chastity – to not have sex until they're sure that the future generation they create won't be like theirs.
| Dark Parties by Sara Grant | |
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| Category: Teens | |
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Reviewer: Catherine Bakes
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| Summary: Living in the Protectosphere doesn't mean that Neva is being protected. Maybe, the Protectosphere's job is to keep things in, rather than things out. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 351 | Date: October 2011 |
| Publisher: Indigo | |
| External links: Author's website | |
| ISBN: 978 1 78062 010 7 | |
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Neva knows that there is something about the Protesphere and the Homeland that is wrong. Firstly, there's The Missing – people who are there one day and have completely disappeared the next. Like Neva's Gran, once she's disappeared Neva's parents pretend that she never existed. It's the same with all The Missing – they are erased. But, Neva keeps a list of all The Missing, and she's determined to find out what's happening.
But, Ethan just wants to do as he's told – settle down, start a family and be the best citizen he can. It's his and Neva's opposing outlook on the Homeland that leads her into Braydon's arms – he's prepared to help her, though it means betraying her best friend. But when Sanna is taken and everyone begins to deny her existence, Neva knows she has to do whatever it takes to save her friend.
This is a thoughtful and, in some places, a distressing book looking at what the future could hold for us. It poses big questions for a teen book about sex, family, society and human nature and it doesn't do a bad job of it. Neva is an easy character to invest in – stuck in a life she doesn't want, assigned an occupation she has no interest in and expected to just procreate. It's dark, it's gritty and some parts are tough to read, but it's worth it.
I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.
If you liked this books try reading Uglies by Scott Westerfeld or The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness.
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You can read more book reviews or buy Dark Parties by Sara Grant at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
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