Beth H. (suburbanalien) reviewed on 9/5/2010 + 63 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 1

I'm not sure how to explain this book without giving anything away. It's too sentimental to be a horror story, too creepy to be a drama, too sad and sweet to be science fiction. But it's all of those things, the premise is science fiction, the underlying themes are horror, the actual day to day story is drama. It's difficult to forget when you are done, issues of morality and mortality, how far you would be willing to go to save a loved one or yourself, how you would be willing to treat sentient creatures for your own benefit, what defines a human and how much you value human life. Yet the story itself, if it were not for these themes and the fate of the ones involved, is in itself a pleasant enough tale of growing up, friendships, obligations and letting go. I find it hard to say too much more without giving away important, but uncomfortable, parts of the book. I thought the book was brilliant - disturbing and ghastly, but you are still drawn into the day to day musings of the main characters. They would be so absorbed in the cliques of their school, the meanings of a sideways glance from another student or a harshly worded upbraiding from a teacher, yet all along they march closer to an utterly hopeless and starkly painful fate. The children are treated kindly and gently, at least until the point where they are necessary for the next step, then they are coldly used, discarded and forgotten. I'm going to look for more books from this author, I have high expectations now. Amazing work.

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