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While Meggie and David Blue are from another planet, they're a lot like Earth kids, with similar hopes and dreams, and can't wait to grow up. BUT they also have GROSSLY UNIQUE qualities, such as blue streaks in their hair that pop up randomly and language skills that sound like nothing on this planet. The story takes these alien kids, along with their mother and grandfather, by accident, to a far planet in which the society is not only oppressive but hostile to individual freedom. People are kept submissive through drugs and brainwashing. The Blues, who have spent time in free societies recognize the upside-down-ness of this world. They're almost helpless to do anything, but do what they can, plan their escape, and vow to help others.
258 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2011
19 people are currently reading
904 people want to read
About the author
Ruth White
80 books113 followersI was born in the Appalachian hills of Virginia, which is the setting for Belle Prater's Boy and The Search for Belle Prater. I lived there until I graduated from high school and went away to college. Though I left the hills, they never left me. My memories of those years are quite vivid. I have always referred to that time as both traumatic and wonderful. I get most of my ideas for my stories from those memories of my childhood home, the small coal-mining town of Grundy, Virginia.
I started writing at a very young age. I remember trying to write stories before I was even able to put long sentences together. It was just something I felt compelled to do, probably because I loved stories so much. We had no television because my family was very poor; my mother was raising my three sisters and me with very little money. So we read aloud and enjoyed each other’s company.
Eventually I became a teacher and then a school librarian. Working in the public schools among adolescents fueled my desire to write, and I suppose the age group I worked with helped me determine that I wanted to write for them instead of for adults or smaller children. I wrote my first book, The City Rose, based on an experience that happened when I taught seventh and eighth grade in Mt. Pleasant, North Carolina. The schools had recently been integrated, and I had two black girls in one of my classes. I noticed that whenever we went to the library, they didn’t check out any books. Finally, they told me that it was because they couldn’t find any books about black children. So I decided to write one.
For Belle Prater's Boy, my inspiration came from Grundy, like it has so many times. When I was small I used to ride through the nicest residential area there and look at the pretty houses and manicured lawns. I thought these were wealthy people who had ideal lives. Only in later years did I realize that the people living in those houses were quite average, living the way most Americans live. They had their own particular problems, which I could not even imagine. So I decided to set a novel there. First, I created Gypsy, the city mouse, who lived in one of those pretty houses, and Woodrow, the country mouse, who was from the sticks. Then I asked them to tell me their story.
I didn’t plan to write a sequel to Belle Prater's Boy. I thought Woodrow's theory about what happened to his mother would be enough for the reader, but it obviously was not. I had many letters from readers wanting to know what happened to Belle, and asking me to write a sequel. Actually, I did the first draft of the sequel in the late nineties. After many revisions, I created The Search for Belle Prater.
When I'm not writing, I like to walk in the park with my golden retriever, listen to books on tape, and watch movies. Away from home, I like to visit schools and talk to young people about books and writing. My daughter usually travels with me, and we have a great time together.
I started writing at a very young age. I remember trying to write stories before I was even able to put long sentences together. It was just something I felt compelled to do, probably because I loved stories so much. We had no television because my family was very poor; my mother was raising my three sisters and me with very little money. So we read aloud and enjoyed each other’s company.
Eventually I became a teacher and then a school librarian. Working in the public schools among adolescents fueled my desire to write, and I suppose the age group I worked with helped me determine that I wanted to write for them instead of for adults or smaller children. I wrote my first book, The City Rose, based on an experience that happened when I taught seventh and eighth grade in Mt. Pleasant, North Carolina. The schools had recently been integrated, and I had two black girls in one of my classes. I noticed that whenever we went to the library, they didn’t check out any books. Finally, they told me that it was because they couldn’t find any books about black children. So I decided to write one.
For Belle Prater's Boy, my inspiration came from Grundy, like it has so many times. When I was small I used to ride through the nicest residential area there and look at the pretty houses and manicured lawns. I thought these were wealthy people who had ideal lives. Only in later years did I realize that the people living in those houses were quite average, living the way most Americans live. They had their own particular problems, which I could not even imagine. So I decided to set a novel there. First, I created Gypsy, the city mouse, who lived in one of those pretty houses, and Woodrow, the country mouse, who was from the sticks. Then I asked them to tell me their story.
I didn’t plan to write a sequel to Belle Prater's Boy. I thought Woodrow's theory about what happened to his mother would be enough for the reader, but it obviously was not. I had many letters from readers wanting to know what happened to Belle, and asking me to write a sequel. Actually, I did the first draft of the sequel in the late nineties. After many revisions, I created The Search for Belle Prater.
When I'm not writing, I like to walk in the park with my golden retriever, listen to books on tape, and watch movies. Away from home, I like to visit schools and talk to young people about books and writing. My daughter usually travels with me, and we have a great time together.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 171 reviews
August 21, 2016
I liked this book i hope everybody does
July 7, 2011
4 stars for the writing but 2 stars for the plot. This dystopian children's novel is reminiscent of many others - Brave New World, 1984, Fahrenheit 451, Sylvia Waugh's "Ormingat" trilogy, and so on - but without quite the subtle bite or emotional resonance of those works. White is a fine writer and Meggie's family's attempts to adapt to a new and imperfect culture are fascinating enough to make this a page-turner.
And yet I didn't buy the whole "alternate Earth" scenario. In this one small city, we find alternate versions of Elvis as a young man, Abe Lincoln and Martin Luther King (who led a rebellion years before and went off to live in the "Western Province"), L. Frank Baum, and lots of people from their Earth town, including Meggie's best friend Kitty. This is so implausible that it has the effect of shaking the reader out of the story - Parable Alert!
And after the family escapes to the blissfully free Western Province, Gramps and Mom offer a dissection of some of Fashion City's practices, in case we didn't get it on our own.
"What about the drabness?... Why didn't they want bright colors?"
"Color can be stimulating," Gramps the painter explains. "It can send the human imagination spinning into daydreams and fits of creativity. Good music inspires us in the same way."
"And time?" I ask. "Why did we have no weeks or months or names of days?"
"The Fathers didn't want us measuring time," Gramps says. "They encouraged us to live only for the moment...to forget we were destined to be soldiers at sixteen, factory drones every day thereafter, and corpses at sixty-five. For the same reason, they wanted us always in a stupor..."
And so on, as if the reader hadn't already figured that out.
All in all, I found this a pleasant but ultimately disappointing novel, lacking in the kind of sharp insight that readers of dystopian novels expect. As a result, I'd recommend it to kids in grades 4 - 6 as a stepping stone on the way to grittier YA fare.
And yet I didn't buy the whole "alternate Earth" scenario. In this one small city, we find alternate versions of Elvis as a young man, Abe Lincoln and Martin Luther King (who led a rebellion years before and went off to live in the "Western Province"), L. Frank Baum, and lots of people from their Earth town, including Meggie's best friend Kitty. This is so implausible that it has the effect of shaking the reader out of the story - Parable Alert!
And after the family escapes to the blissfully free Western Province, Gramps and Mom offer a dissection of some of Fashion City's practices, in case we didn't get it on our own.
"What about the drabness?... Why didn't they want bright colors?"
"Color can be stimulating," Gramps the painter explains. "It can send the human imagination spinning into daydreams and fits of creativity. Good music inspires us in the same way."
"And time?" I ask. "Why did we have no weeks or months or names of days?"
"The Fathers didn't want us measuring time," Gramps says. "They encouraged us to live only for the moment...to forget we were destined to be soldiers at sixteen, factory drones every day thereafter, and corpses at sixty-five. For the same reason, they wanted us always in a stupor..."
And so on, as if the reader hadn't already figured that out.
All in all, I found this a pleasant but ultimately disappointing novel, lacking in the kind of sharp insight that readers of dystopian novels expect. As a result, I'd recommend it to kids in grades 4 - 6 as a stepping stone on the way to grittier YA fare.
March 8, 2024
MARCH 2024 - Oh my word! 1984 meets The Hunger Games! I was not expecting that, but I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It had my heart racing at times. I will pass it on to my grandson to read. I think he’ll enjoy it.
September 5, 2011
Interesting YA take on aliens and dystopia.
The first chapter of the book seems oddly disconnected from the rest of the book. (Spoiler alert!) The author attempts to use the unreliable narrator technique and it falls flat, because it isn't that the narrator is unreliable, it's that she's outright lying to the reader and herself, is misrepresenting things in such a way that later it seems completely unconnected to her character. It's almost as though a different author wrote the first chapter (badly) and a more talented writer who understood the characters better took over from there.
After this initial speedbump, the book is a cute, fun read about a young alien girl and her family, struggling to survive after leaving the Earth of today for another dimension, where the government has been overthrown by big business, and a public kept in perpetual stupor works endless days for the reward of being put down at age 65. Oh yes, I yelled "Soylent Green is People!" the first time I saw the vacation 65 bus, I'll admit it. Anyone who is a fan of classic sci-fi will find familiar themes here, stolen from Brave New World, Farenheit 451, 1984 and other classics, reinterpreted for kids in an approachable format with likable characters.
The first chapter of the book seems oddly disconnected from the rest of the book. (Spoiler alert!) The author attempts to use the unreliable narrator technique and it falls flat, because it isn't that the narrator is unreliable, it's that she's outright lying to the reader and herself, is misrepresenting things in such a way that later it seems completely unconnected to her character. It's almost as though a different author wrote the first chapter (badly) and a more talented writer who understood the characters better took over from there.
After this initial speedbump, the book is a cute, fun read about a young alien girl and her family, struggling to survive after leaving the Earth of today for another dimension, where the government has been overthrown by big business, and a public kept in perpetual stupor works endless days for the reward of being put down at age 65. Oh yes, I yelled "Soylent Green is People!" the first time I saw the vacation 65 bus, I'll admit it. Anyone who is a fan of classic sci-fi will find familiar themes here, stolen from Brave New World, Farenheit 451, 1984 and other classics, reinterpreted for kids in an approachable format with likable characters.
May 9, 2017
This book is amazing and I could not put it down! Science fiction is fun to read.
February 27, 2018
La lectura de Os gustará esto fue el reencuentro con una forma de narrar que pocas veces se encuentra en la literatura juvenil actual. Hay un punto de inocencia, de encanto, de sana tradición americana... desde las emocionantes descripciones de paisajes deudora de Laura Ingalls o Patricia MacLachlan (ambas autoras se pueden encontrar en el catálogo de Noguer) hasta el espíritu de los cuentos de ese mago que es Ray Bradbury. El gusano dentro de la manzana. El fantástico en lo cotidiano. Y, claro, sin olvidar las maravillosas historias de La dimensión desconocida.
Cuesta explicar de qué va esta historia sin destripar alguna de sus sorpresa. Digamos que los Blue (abuelo, mamá, hermano y hermana) tienen que huir en mitad de la noche de sus vecinos (a los que imagino llevando antorchas). En su huida llegan a Fashion City, un lugar bonito, seguro y feliz lleno de personas amables que cuidan las unas de las otras. Pero, claro, no todo es como a primera vista parece y los Blue verán que en su nuevo mundo, entre otras cosas, es muy peligroso ser "groseramente único" y que este mundo oculta muchas mentiras.
Para disfrutar de esta novela en todo lo que se merece debemos tener en mente que uno, es una novela para jóvenes lectores y dos, la tradición en la que se inscribe. No estamos ante una novela distópica (pese a sus tintes) o de ciencia ficción... es una novela de fantasía. Pero entendida en la tradición que apuntaba más arriba, la de L. Frank Baum, Ray Bradbury, los guiones de Richard Matheson para La dimensión desconocida, los cómics de terror y ciencia ficción de los años cincuenta, la serie B cinematográfica, el imaginario de Roadl Dalh, etc. Lo maravilloso, la fantasía de la cotidianidad y un espíritu pulp en las cuestiones científicas que la hace hija directa del desparpajo de esa obra maestra que es Universo de locos (por cierto, publicada por Gigamesh).
A mí todo esa tradición y estos universos me encantan y leer Os gustará esto (como a todos) ha sido como reencontrarme con viejos y conocidos amigos. Es una novela sencilla y divertida sobre una familia que sólo quiere vivir en paz y encontrar un hogar donde ser felices. Las intrigas y los peligros son cotidianos. No encontraremos a héroes afiliándose a una resistencia, grandes batallas o heroínas en el último segundo. Ni grandes amores más allá del coqueteo inocente de una niña de doce años. Familia, amistad, dolor, perdida, mentiras... Una historia y una trama sencilla, pero con sus buenas sorpresas.
La novela tiene un estilo tranquilo, sencillo y diáfano. Personajes funcionales y agradables. Cuidado con los secundarios. Personas normales que solo quieren una vida tranquila. No son héroes y no se comportarán como tales. Los niños son niños con sus errores y prejuicios. Y su mirada limpia. La huida es una opción. La novela respira cierta inocencia en la forma de plantear la historia que recuerda a cuentos de otro tiempo. No se entretiene en una explicación detallada del nuevo mundo, sino que prefiere la sutileza y la información justa dejando al lector el trabajo de configurar el resto. Las noticias de la guerra, el sistema de gobierno... Quizá le achacaría algo de falta de desarrollo en algún punto del trasfondo, pero eso es pensado ahora. Cuando leía me limitaba a disfrutar.
Os gustará esto (como a todos) es una buena novela de aventuras con tintes distópicos para jóvenes lectores (dicen que a partir de 12, pero un buen lector de 10 ya puede meterse en esto). Quien busque algo más adulto o imagine que esto es distopía pura se llevará un chasco. Quien busque romance o grandes dosis de acción, también. Es una novela sencilla que parece sacada de otro tiempo.
Cuesta explicar de qué va esta historia sin destripar alguna de sus sorpresa. Digamos que los Blue (abuelo, mamá, hermano y hermana) tienen que huir en mitad de la noche de sus vecinos (a los que imagino llevando antorchas). En su huida llegan a Fashion City, un lugar bonito, seguro y feliz lleno de personas amables que cuidan las unas de las otras. Pero, claro, no todo es como a primera vista parece y los Blue verán que en su nuevo mundo, entre otras cosas, es muy peligroso ser "groseramente único" y que este mundo oculta muchas mentiras.
Para disfrutar de esta novela en todo lo que se merece debemos tener en mente que uno, es una novela para jóvenes lectores y dos, la tradición en la que se inscribe. No estamos ante una novela distópica (pese a sus tintes) o de ciencia ficción... es una novela de fantasía. Pero entendida en la tradición que apuntaba más arriba, la de L. Frank Baum, Ray Bradbury, los guiones de Richard Matheson para La dimensión desconocida, los cómics de terror y ciencia ficción de los años cincuenta, la serie B cinematográfica, el imaginario de Roadl Dalh, etc. Lo maravilloso, la fantasía de la cotidianidad y un espíritu pulp en las cuestiones científicas que la hace hija directa del desparpajo de esa obra maestra que es Universo de locos (por cierto, publicada por Gigamesh).
A mí todo esa tradición y estos universos me encantan y leer Os gustará esto (como a todos) ha sido como reencontrarme con viejos y conocidos amigos. Es una novela sencilla y divertida sobre una familia que sólo quiere vivir en paz y encontrar un hogar donde ser felices. Las intrigas y los peligros son cotidianos. No encontraremos a héroes afiliándose a una resistencia, grandes batallas o heroínas en el último segundo. Ni grandes amores más allá del coqueteo inocente de una niña de doce años. Familia, amistad, dolor, perdida, mentiras... Una historia y una trama sencilla, pero con sus buenas sorpresas.
La novela tiene un estilo tranquilo, sencillo y diáfano. Personajes funcionales y agradables. Cuidado con los secundarios. Personas normales que solo quieren una vida tranquila. No son héroes y no se comportarán como tales. Los niños son niños con sus errores y prejuicios. Y su mirada limpia. La huida es una opción. La novela respira cierta inocencia en la forma de plantear la historia que recuerda a cuentos de otro tiempo. No se entretiene en una explicación detallada del nuevo mundo, sino que prefiere la sutileza y la información justa dejando al lector el trabajo de configurar el resto. Las noticias de la guerra, el sistema de gobierno... Quizá le achacaría algo de falta de desarrollo en algún punto del trasfondo, pero eso es pensado ahora. Cuando leía me limitaba a disfrutar.
Os gustará esto (como a todos) es una buena novela de aventuras con tintes distópicos para jóvenes lectores (dicen que a partir de 12, pero un buen lector de 10 ya puede meterse en esto). Quien busque algo más adulto o imagine que esto es distopía pura se llevará un chasco. Quien busque romance o grandes dosis de acción, también. Es una novela sencilla que parece sacada de otro tiempo.
February 24, 2020
Meggie Blue and her family have a peaceful life in North Carolina. They have a nice farm in a nice town full of nice people. Everything is perfect, until one night when everything changed.
Living in a small town often comes with a load of drama, the latest being the talk of aliens. The townspeople have been talking about aliens who inhabit the Earth, and who hide among others. The Blues have a secret though, and although they try to hide it well, they clearly do not hide it well enough. The Blues have often had drills they practiced in the case of an emergency, and those drills were put to work in the middle of the night when Gramps- Meggies grandpa, woke David- Meggies big brother, and mom, and Meggie in the middle of the night. He said people were coming up the yard with pitchforks and and torches. The Blues ran into the basement and loaded into the carriage, a type of spaceship like contraption. As the people broke into the house they were accusing the Blues for being aliens, and intruders. While the townspeople were yelling at the Blues and accusing them of countless things, Meggie and her family flew away.
Meggie had always wondered why she was different, and now she knew why. She was an alien. The blues originally came from a planet called Chroma which had grown uninhabitable due to pollution and other things. And spoke Chromish which was Chromas native language. The people who used to live there are called Blues, this was due to the blue change of hair color when they mature. Meggie and her brother David had never known they were aliens who evacuated their home planet and moved to Earth instead. At first they had a hard time accepting that they were aliens, But then Gramp’s showed them a flute-like instrument called the log. The log was used by the family to record the memories they have of Chroma, and now of Earth. When Gramp’s played the log it brought back all of the old memories Meggie and David had forgotten.
Since the Blues had to leave Earth they had to find a new home on a new planet. They wanted a planet that was like the Earth, and the one that was the closest description to earth they could find was Fashion City. The only way to describe fashion city is dull and strict. Although fashion City is strict and dull they house many strange people like Elvis Presley, although on Earth he was thought to be dead many years ago. The people of Fashion city don’t like to be different from anyone else, and when someone is different they are considered “Grossly unique”. Fashion City also has a pill the people can take for anything, It's called Lotus. The Fathers are the main power in Fashion City, and they control everything in fashion City including the TV channels the people watch. The Blues think the Fathers use Lotus to brain-wash the people, and it makes them willing to do what the Fathers want.
After the Blues have settled into fashion City they learn about something called Vacation 65, this is when the Fathers collect all the people who have turned 65, and they send them to an Island for the rest of their lives. When Gramp’s is taken to vacation 65, the Blues try to get him back, and they make a plan to break him out. Then they leave Fashion City, and go in search of vacation 65, and when they find Gramp’s he is about to be given a shot. A shot that would have killed him if the Blues hadn’t found them first.The Blues reveal that the true reason for vacation 65 is to take all of the seniors and kill them to make room for the future generations. The Blues break Gramp’s out of the vacation 65 facility, and leave Fashion City and move to the Western Province, where they hope to find a better, and more permanent life.
I liked the book, but I did find it a little boring in some places. I would recommend this to a friend. I really like how the author told the story through not only Meggie’s point of view, but also her brother David's as well. It made it a lot more descriptive. Overall I liked this book, and it was pretty good.
Living in a small town often comes with a load of drama, the latest being the talk of aliens. The townspeople have been talking about aliens who inhabit the Earth, and who hide among others. The Blues have a secret though, and although they try to hide it well, they clearly do not hide it well enough. The Blues have often had drills they practiced in the case of an emergency, and those drills were put to work in the middle of the night when Gramps- Meggies grandpa, woke David- Meggies big brother, and mom, and Meggie in the middle of the night. He said people were coming up the yard with pitchforks and and torches. The Blues ran into the basement and loaded into the carriage, a type of spaceship like contraption. As the people broke into the house they were accusing the Blues for being aliens, and intruders. While the townspeople were yelling at the Blues and accusing them of countless things, Meggie and her family flew away.
Meggie had always wondered why she was different, and now she knew why. She was an alien. The blues originally came from a planet called Chroma which had grown uninhabitable due to pollution and other things. And spoke Chromish which was Chromas native language. The people who used to live there are called Blues, this was due to the blue change of hair color when they mature. Meggie and her brother David had never known they were aliens who evacuated their home planet and moved to Earth instead. At first they had a hard time accepting that they were aliens, But then Gramp’s showed them a flute-like instrument called the log. The log was used by the family to record the memories they have of Chroma, and now of Earth. When Gramp’s played the log it brought back all of the old memories Meggie and David had forgotten.
Since the Blues had to leave Earth they had to find a new home on a new planet. They wanted a planet that was like the Earth, and the one that was the closest description to earth they could find was Fashion City. The only way to describe fashion city is dull and strict. Although fashion City is strict and dull they house many strange people like Elvis Presley, although on Earth he was thought to be dead many years ago. The people of Fashion city don’t like to be different from anyone else, and when someone is different they are considered “Grossly unique”. Fashion City also has a pill the people can take for anything, It's called Lotus. The Fathers are the main power in Fashion City, and they control everything in fashion City including the TV channels the people watch. The Blues think the Fathers use Lotus to brain-wash the people, and it makes them willing to do what the Fathers want.
After the Blues have settled into fashion City they learn about something called Vacation 65, this is when the Fathers collect all the people who have turned 65, and they send them to an Island for the rest of their lives. When Gramp’s is taken to vacation 65, the Blues try to get him back, and they make a plan to break him out. Then they leave Fashion City, and go in search of vacation 65, and when they find Gramp’s he is about to be given a shot. A shot that would have killed him if the Blues hadn’t found them first.The Blues reveal that the true reason for vacation 65 is to take all of the seniors and kill them to make room for the future generations. The Blues break Gramp’s out of the vacation 65 facility, and leave Fashion City and move to the Western Province, where they hope to find a better, and more permanent life.
I liked the book, but I did find it a little boring in some places. I would recommend this to a friend. I really like how the author told the story through not only Meggie’s point of view, but also her brother David's as well. It made it a lot more descriptive. Overall I liked this book, and it was pretty good.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 1, 2011
Summary: Although Meggie Blue seems to be an average sixth-grader she is abnormally frightened when residents of her small, North Carolina town become fixated on aliens, and soon she and her family are forced to flee, making it clear that all is not as it seems.
The Blue family: Meggie, her older brother David, Mom, and Gramps
Aliens from planet Chroma who left the planet due to the pollution that destroyed the area and killed off some of the inhabitant such as Meggie's dad and grandmother. (info about Chroma is found in Chapter 5, page 26) The family left Chroma for a better life on planet Earth. Mom had already learned English from a teacher when she was little and taught it to Gramps, Meggie, and David. The family could blend into the community on Earth except for their blue streaks that would appear in their hair. The blue usually achieved around 12 years old when a person had reached a certain state of maturity in body, mind, and spirit (27). The blues were able to hide their blue hair when it would appear with hats that they kept with them at all times and small containers of vinegar that they could quickly apply to their hair to "erase" the blue streaks.
The family once lived in CA but had to move when a madman tried to attack Meggie at her school. He had a special sense and could detect aliens trying to hide as average people in the community. Meggie is still haunted by that experience of the man trying to kill her at her school. The Blues then moved to NC.
After people in the town start to suspect that the Blue family aren't who they say they are, they flee their comfortable life in NC in the middle of the night using a time/space travel vehicle called the Carriage and head to a new home. The family arrives in place that looks and feel a lot like planet Earth. It is in face a different planet Earth. In Fashion City, the family is greeted by police officer who believes they have escaped from the horrors of the Western Province where they had to eat rats. The police officer helps them get set up with a home, clothes, jobs, and food by sending them to the correct office buildings in which they can get those items.
The Fathers take care of their people here.
Praise the Fathers
You'll like it here. Everybody Does.
are all phrases that people in Fashion City keep saying to the family. In Fashion City, they learn more about the life in the area:
-people pop lotus pills all day long and seem to be in a stupor
-uniqueness is frowned upon and can even get you arrested
-everyone were the same clothes and in boring colors. the only difference in the clothes in the phases that might appear on them, usually like Priase the Fathers
-no pets are allowed
-there is no violence, poverty, and sickness
-all adults work EVERYDAY in the factory making the clothes
-all kids have to go to school each day by staying home and doing their lessons for 1 hour a day with the TV that is in every room
-their is a curfew and lockdown each night at 8:30pm and everyone has to be home to watch The Family Hour, Entertainment for the Whole Family, Each Night at 8:30pm, Presented by the Fathers (page 46)
-The Family Hour: they tell who has been arrested and remind the people about all that the Fathers have done for the people
-During the TV show, soft music is played the a series of slogans roll across the screen "Stay healthy and alive for Vacation 65!, Conformity is security, Conformity is contentment, The daydreamer is discontented, I will gladly give four years to serve the Fathers, Everybody likes Fashion City, Praise the Fathers" (page 74)
-all kids when they reach 16 have to go fight in the wars for the Fathers, unless they are lucky and get a special job
-when you reach age 65, you go on a wonderful vacation like a retirement community and never return (we find out later, the old people are killed through lethal injection after 3 days of their vacation)
-there are no people with disabilities (because they are sent away and killed off)
-whites are the superior race, blacks work at night and live in a different area of the city
-books are not allowed
While there the family learns that they are doubles of people they knew from the other planet Earth. There is another young Elvis Presley (who is arrested for being grossly unique), another Kitty (Meggie's best friend from NC, another A. Lincoln, and MLK Jr, etc.
The Blues know they don't want to stay in this brainwashed land but need to do their best to try to blend in until they can make sure they know how to use the Carriage to go to a new land that is safe for them. They don't want to rush things and end up in a place worse than this.
The Blues befriend a family who lives above them, the Gilmores - The Dad, Gil, the daughter Jennifer who is David's age, and the older brother Colin
Through the friendship with the Gilmores, the Blues learn more about life in Fashion City. The Gilmores start to question why the Blues seem to not know so much about the Revolution, the Western Province, and the Fathers.
In the end, the Blues end up explaining that they are aliens and try to convince the Gilmore to escape with them in the carriage. Jennifer reveals that she has a book that might help find out where Gramps is so they can rescue him before he is killed on Vacation 65. Mrs. Gilmore was part of the resistance and was sent away but left this book for her family to use when it was time. The book has maps and shows that the land looks a lot like the US. Fashion City is like Missouri, the Western Province is the western part of the county with trees, mountains, etc. The Father live along the eastern coast, while Vacation 65 is Florida. We also learn that this land used to have a govt like the US but corporate greed overthrew it and now money making corporations are running the show - they are the Fathers.
Gil's cousin works in Vacation 65 and ends up telling what room Gamps is in. The family travels to Gramps room and rescue him (and Kitty who was sent away for buying magazines on the black market) before they are killed. The madman is also at the hospital and tries to attach the family when he detects they are their. Mom is punched by the madman and can't operate the Carriage. Gramps can't operate it either, he is drugged up. Meggie ends up operating it. She secretly played around with the computer in the Carriage during their time in Fashion City and found out she does read Chromish. She saves the day and takes the family to the Western Province which turns out to be a beautiful area of the country rich with nature and a government similar to the US with leaders like A. Lincoln, MLK Jr. and a Native American tribe leader. They will start their new life here.
Comments: The plot was interesting and kept you engaged. Life in Fashion City was scary and dark, especially the more that was revealed. Wondering if it might be too dark for younger readers because of killing off of old people, the sick, and the disabled. Could this be an interesting read for a class learning about the Holocaust? Better for older middle school or higher. But Meggie is a 6th grader.
Also, I felt the end was a little to easily solved. I thought it would have been harder to escape. The did have alot of obstacles but they were solved quickly or easily. They found out Gramps room # easily, the tutor that Meggie had because she skipped her homework twice wasn't scary at all like they had warned earlier in the book (it was L. Frank Baum and he was easily distracted by Meggie who talked about the Wizard of Oz).
Is this an original plot or has this been done before - like the Stepford Wives or Fahrenheit 451.
The Blue family: Meggie, her older brother David, Mom, and Gramps
Aliens from planet Chroma who left the planet due to the pollution that destroyed the area and killed off some of the inhabitant such as Meggie's dad and grandmother. (info about Chroma is found in Chapter 5, page 26) The family left Chroma for a better life on planet Earth. Mom had already learned English from a teacher when she was little and taught it to Gramps, Meggie, and David. The family could blend into the community on Earth except for their blue streaks that would appear in their hair. The blue usually achieved around 12 years old when a person had reached a certain state of maturity in body, mind, and spirit (27). The blues were able to hide their blue hair when it would appear with hats that they kept with them at all times and small containers of vinegar that they could quickly apply to their hair to "erase" the blue streaks.
The family once lived in CA but had to move when a madman tried to attack Meggie at her school. He had a special sense and could detect aliens trying to hide as average people in the community. Meggie is still haunted by that experience of the man trying to kill her at her school. The Blues then moved to NC.
After people in the town start to suspect that the Blue family aren't who they say they are, they flee their comfortable life in NC in the middle of the night using a time/space travel vehicle called the Carriage and head to a new home. The family arrives in place that looks and feel a lot like planet Earth. It is in face a different planet Earth. In Fashion City, the family is greeted by police officer who believes they have escaped from the horrors of the Western Province where they had to eat rats. The police officer helps them get set up with a home, clothes, jobs, and food by sending them to the correct office buildings in which they can get those items.
The Fathers take care of their people here.
Praise the Fathers
You'll like it here. Everybody Does.
are all phrases that people in Fashion City keep saying to the family. In Fashion City, they learn more about the life in the area:
-people pop lotus pills all day long and seem to be in a stupor
-uniqueness is frowned upon and can even get you arrested
-everyone were the same clothes and in boring colors. the only difference in the clothes in the phases that might appear on them, usually like Priase the Fathers
-no pets are allowed
-there is no violence, poverty, and sickness
-all adults work EVERYDAY in the factory making the clothes
-all kids have to go to school each day by staying home and doing their lessons for 1 hour a day with the TV that is in every room
-their is a curfew and lockdown each night at 8:30pm and everyone has to be home to watch The Family Hour, Entertainment for the Whole Family, Each Night at 8:30pm, Presented by the Fathers (page 46)
-The Family Hour: they tell who has been arrested and remind the people about all that the Fathers have done for the people
-During the TV show, soft music is played the a series of slogans roll across the screen "Stay healthy and alive for Vacation 65!, Conformity is security, Conformity is contentment, The daydreamer is discontented, I will gladly give four years to serve the Fathers, Everybody likes Fashion City, Praise the Fathers" (page 74)
-all kids when they reach 16 have to go fight in the wars for the Fathers, unless they are lucky and get a special job
-when you reach age 65, you go on a wonderful vacation like a retirement community and never return (we find out later, the old people are killed through lethal injection after 3 days of their vacation)
-there are no people with disabilities (because they are sent away and killed off)
-whites are the superior race, blacks work at night and live in a different area of the city
-books are not allowed
While there the family learns that they are doubles of people they knew from the other planet Earth. There is another young Elvis Presley (who is arrested for being grossly unique), another Kitty (Meggie's best friend from NC, another A. Lincoln, and MLK Jr, etc.
The Blues know they don't want to stay in this brainwashed land but need to do their best to try to blend in until they can make sure they know how to use the Carriage to go to a new land that is safe for them. They don't want to rush things and end up in a place worse than this.
The Blues befriend a family who lives above them, the Gilmores - The Dad, Gil, the daughter Jennifer who is David's age, and the older brother Colin
Through the friendship with the Gilmores, the Blues learn more about life in Fashion City. The Gilmores start to question why the Blues seem to not know so much about the Revolution, the Western Province, and the Fathers.
In the end, the Blues end up explaining that they are aliens and try to convince the Gilmore to escape with them in the carriage. Jennifer reveals that she has a book that might help find out where Gramps is so they can rescue him before he is killed on Vacation 65. Mrs. Gilmore was part of the resistance and was sent away but left this book for her family to use when it was time. The book has maps and shows that the land looks a lot like the US. Fashion City is like Missouri, the Western Province is the western part of the county with trees, mountains, etc. The Father live along the eastern coast, while Vacation 65 is Florida. We also learn that this land used to have a govt like the US but corporate greed overthrew it and now money making corporations are running the show - they are the Fathers.
Gil's cousin works in Vacation 65 and ends up telling what room Gamps is in. The family travels to Gramps room and rescue him (and Kitty who was sent away for buying magazines on the black market) before they are killed. The madman is also at the hospital and tries to attach the family when he detects they are their. Mom is punched by the madman and can't operate the Carriage. Gramps can't operate it either, he is drugged up. Meggie ends up operating it. She secretly played around with the computer in the Carriage during their time in Fashion City and found out she does read Chromish. She saves the day and takes the family to the Western Province which turns out to be a beautiful area of the country rich with nature and a government similar to the US with leaders like A. Lincoln, MLK Jr. and a Native American tribe leader. They will start their new life here.
Comments: The plot was interesting and kept you engaged. Life in Fashion City was scary and dark, especially the more that was revealed. Wondering if it might be too dark for younger readers because of killing off of old people, the sick, and the disabled. Could this be an interesting read for a class learning about the Holocaust? Better for older middle school or higher. But Meggie is a 6th grader.
Also, I felt the end was a little to easily solved. I thought it would have been harder to escape. The did have alot of obstacles but they were solved quickly or easily. They found out Gramps room # easily, the tutor that Meggie had because she skipped her homework twice wasn't scary at all like they had warned earlier in the book (it was L. Frank Baum and he was easily distracted by Meggie who talked about the Wizard of Oz).
Is this an original plot or has this been done before - like the Stepford Wives or Fahrenheit 451.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 17, 2019
Me encanto este libró
El principio de las causas de todo que no te explica la sinopsis me tomo por sorpresa, no me lo esperaba y debo decir que me encanto todo el libro, creo que si hubiera tenido el tiempo para enfocarme en solo ese libro lo hubiera leído en uno o dos días porque te engancha muchísimo y quieres saber que va a pasar y como van a salir de ahí y como es la sociedad en la que viven, una lectura muy ligera y super recomendada.
El principio de las causas de todo que no te explica la sinopsis me tomo por sorpresa, no me lo esperaba y debo decir que me encanto todo el libro, creo que si hubiera tenido el tiempo para enfocarme en solo ese libro lo hubiera leído en uno o dos días porque te engancha muchísimo y quieres saber que va a pasar y como van a salir de ahí y como es la sociedad en la que viven, una lectura muy ligera y super recomendada.
November 19, 2019
Do yourself a favor and go read this very good sf/dystopian tween novel. I missed it when it came out in 2011 but a young patron recommended it to me. Yay! It was gripping, fast-paced and has both boy and girl appeal. If a kid liked The Giver, they will love this one.
February 9, 2021
Una novela en la que se muestra cómo puede ser manipulado un pueblo bajo la opresión de un gobierno, cómo las personas pueden menospreciar e incluso atacar solo por prejuicios.
August 22, 2016
Okay, I don't want to be harsh... but I think I pretty much hated this book. We had it on audiobook and my younger sister wanted to finish it, so she dragged me through six hours of this story on audiobook.
The thing is, it has an interesting premise. Or at least, interesting points.
But this book is ALL OVER THE PLACE. Like, it's a book about aliens, who have lived as humans most of their lives, who can travel through dimensions, who go to an alternate Earth dimension, where it's a dystopia, there are political statements, statements against racism, and all of the characters have somebody they like-like, just not to miss anyone. Even the mom. There is no cohesive theme, or cohesive story.
Then there is the high improbability that in this alternate dimension all these famous humans would all live at the same time, Elvis, Lincoln, King, even the author of The Wizard of Oz . But despite all these famous people randomly existing in the same timeline, and all being famous despite the fact that the same factors have not affected their lived (and no one being famous who isn't an instantly recognizable historical-figure) all of Maggie's friends are also in the same timeline. Not only this, but living in the same city!
Kitty, Maggie's friend, just shows up at the most random times. Including in the finale, which I won't ruin for you -- although it's pretty unbelievable and horrible.
Then the cultural references are so way off base, you can tell an older person wrote it, who only looked at pop culture briefly before choosing. Miley Cyrus, Justin Beiber and Taylor Swift are all mentioned at some point.
Ugh.
Ugh.
I should just stop ranting now.
Goodbye.
The thing is, it has an interesting premise. Or at least, interesting points.
But this book is ALL OVER THE PLACE. Like, it's a book about aliens, who have lived as humans most of their lives, who can travel through dimensions, who go to an alternate Earth dimension, where it's a dystopia, there are political statements, statements against racism, and all of the characters have somebody they like-like, just not to miss anyone. Even the mom. There is no cohesive theme, or cohesive story.
Then there is the high improbability that in this alternate dimension all these famous humans would all live at the same time, Elvis, Lincoln, King, even the author of The Wizard of Oz . But despite all these famous people randomly existing in the same timeline, and all being famous despite the fact that the same factors have not affected their lived (and no one being famous who isn't an instantly recognizable historical-figure) all of Maggie's friends are also in the same timeline. Not only this, but living in the same city!
Kitty, Maggie's friend, just shows up at the most random times. Including in the finale, which I won't ruin for you -- although it's pretty unbelievable and horrible.
Then the cultural references are so way off base, you can tell an older person wrote it, who only looked at pop culture briefly before choosing. Miley Cyrus, Justin Beiber and Taylor Swift are all mentioned at some point.
Ugh.
Ugh.
I should just stop ranting now.
Goodbye.
September 14, 2011
You'll Like It Here (Everybody Does) by Ruth White
is a fast paced dystopian novel which tells the story of the Blue family. The story is told in alternating chapters by inquisitive and likeable siblings David and Meggie Blue. After being chased off from earth after being recognized as aliens, they arrive in a strange alternate earth in a place called Fashion City. They are immediately welcomed and given gifts (housing, jobs and money) from “The Fathers” who run the city and take care of the people.
It becomes immediately apparent that Fashion City is a society which demands conformity and compliance and uniqueness is not tolerated. The longer the family resides in Fashion City, the more unsettled the Blues’ (and the reader) become.
Rebels are taken away and brainwashed, citizens are fed tranquilizers, (another gift from The Fathers) the televisions play only happy, wholesome programs and everyone is locked in their homes at 8:30 PM.
When one of the family members is put in jeopardy, the Blues realize they cannot stay in Fashion City. Escape seems nearly impossible though as they are under the ever watchful eyes of The Fathers.
While there is nothing especially fresh in this latest foray into the dystopian society, it
is nice to see one that can be embraced by the intermediate audience (for whom it will be new) and it is sure to get kids thinking about the importance of our freedoms.
is a fast paced dystopian novel which tells the story of the Blue family. The story is told in alternating chapters by inquisitive and likeable siblings David and Meggie Blue. After being chased off from earth after being recognized as aliens, they arrive in a strange alternate earth in a place called Fashion City. They are immediately welcomed and given gifts (housing, jobs and money) from “The Fathers” who run the city and take care of the people.
It becomes immediately apparent that Fashion City is a society which demands conformity and compliance and uniqueness is not tolerated. The longer the family resides in Fashion City, the more unsettled the Blues’ (and the reader) become.
Rebels are taken away and brainwashed, citizens are fed tranquilizers, (another gift from The Fathers) the televisions play only happy, wholesome programs and everyone is locked in their homes at 8:30 PM.
When one of the family members is put in jeopardy, the Blues realize they cannot stay in Fashion City. Escape seems nearly impossible though as they are under the ever watchful eyes of The Fathers.
While there is nothing especially fresh in this latest foray into the dystopian society, it
is nice to see one that can be embraced by the intermediate audience (for whom it will be new) and it is sure to get kids thinking about the importance of our freedoms.
January 14, 2012
Meggie Blue and her brother David live with Mom and Gramps in a small town in North Carolina. It’s a great life until others in their town sense that Meggie and the rest of the family may be a bit different, a bit unique, a bit other-worldly. When Mom and Gramps catch news of an uprising against the family, they leave California in a very unusual way and they arrive on another world. This new land looks like the good old USA on Earth and appears to be a parallel world with many of the same historical, literary, and entertainment names living on it. But different choices have been made there and the country has evolved in a very different –and not so good--way.
On the book flap, White cites having watched The Twilight Zone and those who have watched any of the episodes may recognize the effect that program had on this story, so very different from other books by the author. The story is told in the alternating voices of Meggie and David. David is older and thinks of himself as the natural leader of the two, but it is Meggie who remembers her native language and who is able to take charge when she needs to do so.
Readers will find a unique viewpoint: aliens living on Earth must leave it, but find themselves missing the life they left. It may raise discussions about conformity and individual liberty—or it might just entertain. Either way, young readers should be intrigued by the idea of aliens among us.
On the book flap, White cites having watched The Twilight Zone and those who have watched any of the episodes may recognize the effect that program had on this story, so very different from other books by the author. The story is told in the alternating voices of Meggie and David. David is older and thinks of himself as the natural leader of the two, but it is Meggie who remembers her native language and who is able to take charge when she needs to do so.
Readers will find a unique viewpoint: aliens living on Earth must leave it, but find themselves missing the life they left. It may raise discussions about conformity and individual liberty—or it might just entertain. Either way, young readers should be intrigued by the idea of aliens among us.
June 4, 2011
You'll Like It Here (Everybody Does) by Ruth White follows David and Maggie Blue Aliens who get chased off earth after being found out by the locals. The family ends up in a strange place called Fashion City. When they enter the city they are immediately recognized as outsiders and welcomed to the city where they are given housing, jobs, schooling and money (gifts from the fathers). Although things appear strange and unsettling from the start they soon realize that this is a society that demands conformity and compliance and punishes individuality.
This is a very good dystopian for the middle grade audience. I couldn't help but think that this is what Panem (the land of The Hunger Games) was like before they rebelled against the capital. Everything is controlled and those who rebel are taken away to be reprogrammed. The televisions play happy programs and everyone thanks the "fathers" for everything. The two main characters are inquisitive and interesting. The society is creepy without being scary and will make kids think about the importance of freedom and individuality.
Appropriateness: There is no adult content in this book and while the book is very creepy it's not scary and there is no violence. There is a hint of a crush but no real romance. I would recommend this book to readers aged 10-14 who are fans of science fiction or dystopia.
This is a very good dystopian for the middle grade audience. I couldn't help but think that this is what Panem (the land of The Hunger Games) was like before they rebelled against the capital. Everything is controlled and those who rebel are taken away to be reprogrammed. The televisions play happy programs and everyone thanks the "fathers" for everything. The two main characters are inquisitive and interesting. The society is creepy without being scary and will make kids think about the importance of freedom and individuality.
Appropriateness: There is no adult content in this book and while the book is very creepy it's not scary and there is no violence. There is a hint of a crush but no real romance. I would recommend this book to readers aged 10-14 who are fans of science fiction or dystopia.
August 9, 2013
I enjoyed this book, I hope there is follow up to this book. This is a scifi story with a cliff hanger. Have aliens landed on earth? How would we know it? I highly recommend this book, if you haven't read a scifi this would be one story to read, it's not star wars. It's a family looking for a place to live.
Give it a read you will be surprised.
Give it a read you will be surprised.
June 7, 2019
I don't think I'll be able to find a perfect phrase to describe this wonderful book. I truly love it.
This book is a masterpiece. Truly wonderful. No words can describe how amazing this book is. I love it so much.
This book is a masterpiece. Truly wonderful. No words can describe how amazing this book is. I love it so much.
November 5, 2011
I enjoyed how the author explored the concept of parallel worlds. It was well-written and suspenseful.
December 3, 2012
Normalita, pero con un ambiente opresivo muy bien conseguido.
June 14, 2015
Aliens
September 18, 2015
awesome book...everyone should read it...
November 18, 2015
This was a pretty good book. It was reminiscent of several other books but I like that it was written for an elementary audience.
July 21, 2016
I picked this up at the Dollar Tree and based off the back I had no idea it was going to be about what it was about, but I absolutely loved it. What a great great find.
December 14, 2016
A little bit preachy, predictable and overly simplified, but enjoyable enough as an audiobook for a road trip. I would actually like to know what happens afterwards...
July 1, 2024
Overall this book was pretty good. The world building was great. Though I feel like somewhere on the book it should mention that the characters were aliens. It was obvious from literally the first few chapters that they were aliens, but it almost made me stop reading, cause I was expecting and wanting to see dystopia, not aliens. I understand that it is difficult to market cross genre fiction like this, but I feel like the marketing was dishonest. As for the story, I would have liked to see more of Chroma. I feel like there were an unnecesary number of celebrity mentions. The difficulty characters have in obtaining information was frustrating, but made sense for the setting. My primary gripe that I have with the book, is the on page chatacterization of the black characters. It is obvious that the author wanted to talk about how black people were affected by the dystopia she created, but she didn't do it in the best way. There are mentions of Martin Luther King Jr. and other prominent figures in the real life struggle for black people to get and maintain rights, but the on page characterization of black characters is lacking. Kitty, Meggie's best friend on the original earth is seemingly interchanged with the Kitty in the parallel universe. Meggie doesn't seem to fully understand or see them as different people. When they learn that all executions take place at Farlands, she doesn't even think of Kitty once. When they go to get her Grandpa she doesn't even consider Kitty. When her Grandpa reveals that he rescued Kitty, it makes some amount of narrative sense, but feels more like a side quest in a video game that some other player already completed while you weren't paying attention. It also seems a bit white savior-ish. The only other on page characters of color, are both Black men. The first and more prominent of the two being Kitty's grandpa who in both dimensions is portrayed as a violent(leading the mob to attack their house in the first dimension) and a betrayer (when he tells on kitty, and its implied he sold out his son and daughter in law.) The second is Kitty's uncle who seems to only be there to get David out of trouble and express discontent about is job. I don't really see any purpose for his character outside of that. I understand that the society is segregated, but there had to be some better way to ingratiate the black characters into the narrative. They all seemed like afterthoughts and could easily be removed from the story, the only change they would have to make would be to switch which character brings the mob to their house in the beginning. Again overall this was a good book, and the author does seem to care about these issues, but we all have blind spots and I think this book would have benefited from a sensitivity reader focusing on racial issues.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Read
February 10, 2020Meggie Blue and her family had been invaded and moved to a place called Fashion city. Fashion city had many rules and it was not like anything else. Fashion city is pretty much a opposite universe. Meggie and her family made friends with the Gilmores. After about three months Meggies grandpa Gramps had been forced to leave them, the rest of the Blues go to save him including the Gilmores and along the way they fined a new friend named Kitty. After all of that they go to a place called the western proviance. This place is much like society today. once they get to the western proviance they stay and live happily ever after. The theme of this book would be never give up. The theme is this because through out the book the characters never give up on their family and they never give up on getting out of Fashion city. This book was really weird if you ask me. I could maybe connect with Meggies brother because I am smart, I work hard and do everything I am told to do. Other wise I have no connections with any other characters. I think this book could be better if it was told by multiple people instead of just Meggie and her brother.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 27, 2018
"O brave new world, that has such people in 't."
I've not read a middle-school targeted book for quite some time, but this was a welcome diversion from some more cerebral endeavors. As a tale of social utopian/dystopian life, and the struggles to escape from the bad portions of that life, I can see how this would appeal to an 11-year old. I need to recommend this to my own granddaughter... I think that she would appreciate it, or at least understand the content to the extent that she will understand the authors intent.
Comparable to 1984, Brave New World, Logan's Run, Brazil, and a host of other literary and cinematic endeavors, this is a simple presentation of a family encountering a 'strange new world' after they escape what they had thought was a sanctuary achieved after escaping their own world that collapsed due to environmental contamination, and presents us with a pair of siblings learning about themselves and others and the lengths taken to preserve and deny the integrity of the individual.
I've not read a middle-school targeted book for quite some time, but this was a welcome diversion from some more cerebral endeavors. As a tale of social utopian/dystopian life, and the struggles to escape from the bad portions of that life, I can see how this would appeal to an 11-year old. I need to recommend this to my own granddaughter... I think that she would appreciate it, or at least understand the content to the extent that she will understand the authors intent.
Comparable to 1984, Brave New World, Logan's Run, Brazil, and a host of other literary and cinematic endeavors, this is a simple presentation of a family encountering a 'strange new world' after they escape what they had thought was a sanctuary achieved after escaping their own world that collapsed due to environmental contamination, and presents us with a pair of siblings learning about themselves and others and the lengths taken to preserve and deny the integrity of the individual.
October 29, 2023
Ugh. How to evaluate. Some lame bits, esp. near the beginning. Some bits of brilliant writing. An important theme: "Fear of the unknown" does indeed cause a lot of problems... including racism, homophobia, book banning, and even the misunderstandings that lead to wars.
But a society of conformity is no answer, as we know from The Giver, Brave New World, 1984, and many other dystopias. Do we need this book, or do we need to encourage more people to read the better classics?
I don't particularly recommend this unless your library has been purged of the more well-known books. I do recommend that you discuss the themes with your children.
But a society of conformity is no answer, as we know from The Giver, Brave New World, 1984, and many other dystopias. Do we need this book, or do we need to encourage more people to read the better classics?
I don't particularly recommend this unless your library has been purged of the more well-known books. I do recommend that you discuss the themes with your children.
October 10, 2017
This was an action packed book about a family trying to find the best place to live in the galaxy. The family is originally forced to flee from America and they find themselves in a parallel universe. This universe is called "Fashion City". The city has strict rules and everyone is to abide by them. Failure to comply could mean jail or deportation. The family tries their hardest to fit in, but they soon learn they cannot stay there. This book would make a good discussion on how different societies are run and how they impact the people. A discussion about which is better or listing the pros and cons of the way the city ran would be an intriguing dialogue to have.
June 4, 2018
David and Meggie find themselves and their family in a strange world. When forced to leave their home, they travel to a planet where conformity is king and no one knows why, but when you are mellowed out on the free Lotus pills everyone gets, most people didn't seem to care. What made this planet this way, and is there any hope that Meggie, David, Mom, Gramps and their new friends can make it to safety?
Rating: G
Most younger kids might not understand what is happening, the story is still engaging. For those who have a little understanding of how the world work, the book makes one think about what makes us individuals and what the world might look like if that were taken away.
Rating: G
Most younger kids might not understand what is happening, the story is still engaging. For those who have a little understanding of how the world work, the book makes one think about what makes us individuals and what the world might look like if that were taken away.
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