What Happened to Serenity? Book Review

Author: PJ Sarah Collins. Release date: 2011. Publisher:  Red Deer Press. ISBN: 9780889954533.

Annotation: Katherine is fifteen and too old to be asking questions. Her whole life she has learned to trust Father and the Brothers and Sisters: they know what is best and keep the Community running. But after her best friend Anna’s little sister, Serenity, goes missing, how can Katherine keep from longing to discover the truth about her disappearance and the “perfect” society she lives in?  

Personal thoughts: I hadn’t heard much about this novel prior to picking it up and, after reading it rather quickly, I can’t imagine why it hasn’t received more attention. I really enjoyed the soft but brisk pace of the story, and was surprised by how well-developed the characters were for such a short book. There wasn’t anything that annoyed me about Katherine, not an easy feat when it comes to accurately portraying a fifteen-year-old girl. The novel did remind me a bit of the movie The Village, but after reading that the author originally wrote the story thirteen-years-ago, I can appreciate her originality in coming up with the plot. I look forward to seeing what else PJ Sarah Collins comes up with in the future, and would definitely recommend this to tweens and teens for enjoyment or in the classroom.  

Plot summary: At fifteen, Katherine is too old to be asking questions. Her whole life she has been taught in school that asking questions is for children, something their minds don’t realize is wrong and goes against the Manifesto that governs life in the Community. But Katherine can’t help but be curious about the society she lives in: why is Father the only one who makes decisions? Why isn’t anyone allowed to own color? Are they really the only Community left alive after the Ecological Revolution? Katherine’s parents urge her to quell this curiosity; it only leads to trouble and could wind up negatively influencing the Life Role she is soon to be assigned. When Katherine’s best friend Anna’s little sister, Serenity, goes missing, however, Katherine is more determined than ever to ask the questions necessary to learn what happened to the six-year-old, and why Father and the rest of the Community don’t seem to be troubled by her disappearance.   

Review: Part poetry collection, part dystopian thriller, this short but enjoyable novel from debut author PJ Sarah Collins manages to accomplish in just a little more than 200 pages what many young adult novels fail to in 400+: identifiable, well-developed characters, an interesting storyline, and a twist that will keep the reader thinking long after the closing pages. The novel centers around fifteen-year-old Katherine, a curious and intelligent girl who sees that there is something more to her life in the Community than blindly following Father and the Manifesto. Katherine is a writer, and uses a forbidden journal to create poetry about her life, the verses of which separate each chapter in the novel. She is also deeply devoted to her younger brother Scott, something that makes the situation surrounding the disappearance of Serenity more emotional for her than simple curiosity. One notable feature of the novel is that, for the most part, it is devoid of the traditional romance component that seems to be a requirement for young adult novels. A possible “pairing” with another member of the Community is mentioned, but Katherine is quick to throw those concerns aside, focusing instead of her desire to discover the truth about the society she lives in and the fate of her friend’s sister. Overall, Collins has done a wonderful job of creating a quiet but thought-provoking story that manages to be entertaining while avoiding dumbing-down the narrative for the target audience. Easily recommendable for tweens and teens alike.

Genre: Fiction

Reading level: Grade 6+

Similar titles: The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan, All Good Children by Catherine Austen, Eve by Anna Carey, Partials by Dan Wells, Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi.   

Themes:  Dystopian, perfection, community, questioning authority, trust, conspiracy.  

Awards/Reviews:  N/A  

Series Information: N/A

Discussion questions:

-        Do you think the Community was perfect? Why or why not?

-       If you lived in the Community, would you be complacent or would you be curious like Katherine?

-     Why do you think Father used the cutting-off of hair as a punishment? How did this punishment influence the rest of the story?

-      What do you think Father meant when he said people criticized him for creating a society with no soul?

-      Do you think such a place as the Community exists in real life? What challenges would such a place face in today’s society?

-     Would you want to live in a place like the Community? How would you change the Community in the story if you were going to live in it?

You’ll Like it Here (Everybody Does) Book Review

Author: Ruth White. Release date: 2011. Publisher:  Delacorte Books for Young Readers. ISBN: 9780385739986.

Annotation:  The Blue family is forced to suddenly abandon their home in North Carolina when the residents suspect the truth about them: they are originally from the planet Chroma. Seeking a new place to live, the Blues end up in Fashion City, where everything appears harmonious and they are told over and over, “You’ll like it here. Everybody does.” But as they learn more about their new home, they realize that not everything is at it seems.

Personal thoughts:  I have to admit that the title of this novel is really what grabbed me. The creepiness of that phrase really elevated my hopes for the story. I was not disappointed! I really enjoyed You’ll Like it Here (Everybody Does) for many different reasons. It was an incredibly quick read, and I found myself unable to put it down, something that doesn’t often happen for me. I really found the author’s writing-style to be appropriate for young readers but far from juvenile. There are also many references in the novel that only older readers will be able to pick up on, making it even more interesting for parents, teachers or librarians who want to familiarize themselves with the story. I hope that this title makes school reading lists because I really think it has the potential to be a modern classic.

Plot summary: Eleven-year-old Meggie Blue and her older brother, thirteen-year-old David, love their lives in North Carolina. They live with their mother and loving grandfather who they call Gramps on a big ranch in the countryside. After a tragedy strikes their small town, however, the residents begin to suspect the truth: the Blues are not exactly human. Originally from the planet Chroma, they have been forced to relocate after pollution and disease caused their planet to become uninhabitable.  Now the Blues must flee again in the device that brought them to Earth, a “glass rocket-ship” called the Carriage. The Carriage brings them to their new home, a place called Fashion City. At first, everything about the city seems to be harmonious. They are given food, shelter and clothing and told over and over again, “You’ll like it here. Everybody does.” The population of Fashion City may be a bit drab, but the Blues are welcomed into their new lives of factory work, school, and frozen meals. It seems that in Fashion City, violent crime has been eradicated and, in its place, people are punished for things like uniqueness, daydreaming and ambition. As Meggie and David learn more about Fashion City, and the mysterious Fathers who the population praises as ensuring the survival of their town, the Blues begin to wonder if the place is truly as harmonious as it seems.

Review:  Calling to mind such classics as The Giver, Fahrenheit 451 and To Kill a Mockingbird, Ruth White’s You’ll Like it Here (Everybody Does) is a quick but very thought-provoking novel for young readers. The story is told in alternating voices between eleven-year-old Meggie and thirteen-year-old David. Meggie begins narrating the story, and, for the first several chapters, it is not evident that the Blues are, in fact, aliens. The discovery of the truth makes for just one of many exciting twists in the plot. As adult readers are bound to pick up on, there are definite literary references in White’s description of the “utopian” Fashion City. The residents seem to be perpetually locked in a muted, communistic way of life devoid of any creativity, self-expression or ambition. Elders are rounded up for Vacation 65, a form of retirement that takes those who are no longer useful in Fashion City to a tropical paradise. The sinister overtones of the oppression in Fashion City will not be lost on younger readers. At one point in the book, a friend of Meggie’s describes how all of the pets in the city were recently rounded up as animals were found to be carriers of disease. Although the novel does take some dark turns, it doesn’t dive too intensely into the horrors of absolute control and oppression, making it a very appropriate introduction for tweens into dystopian fiction. Overall, You’ll Like it Here (Everybody Does) is a very satisfying and entertaining read for tween, teen and adult readers alike. This title would be especially interesting for a classroom discussion or book group.

Genre: Science-Fiction

Reading level: Grade 4+

Similar titles: The Giver by Lois Lowry, Wrinkle in Time series by Madeleine L’Engle.       

Themes:  Uniqueness, being different, aliens, oppression, race, dystopian, coming-of-age, perfection.  

Awards/Reviews:  Written by Newbery Honor Award winning author.

Series Information: N/A   

Discussion questions:

- Find out what the phrase “unreliable narrator” means. Would you describe Meggie in the first few chapters as an unreliable narrator? Why or why not?

- Were you surprised to learn that the Blues were not from Earth?

- Name four historical figures that appear in Fashion City. Why were they important to society in real life? What do you think the author included them in the novel?

- Which character did you like better: Meggie or David? Why?

- When did you realize the truth about Vacation 65?

- Would you like to read a sequel to this novel? What would you include in a sequel if you were writing one?