Shutdown

by Sue Hampton

It is the middle of the 21st Century and in New Britain the behaviour and feelings of children are controlled by drugs and by education without soul. Everyone is chilled and everywhere is plugged in. Everywhere, that is, except a remote island community called Rainbow Dreams. There the RD brothers and sisters choose freedom, the sea and earth, and to breathe air that is not disinfected. But what happens when the two worlds collide?

The story begins with Sam and Lia, two babies born at the same time in the same mainland hospital. Sam goes back to live on the island while Lia returns to live her bright white sanitised life and attend her hi-tech linegraded school. But the bond between them grows stronger with time, and when a dying horse brings Lia back to Rainbow Dreams it begins a series of events that bring conflict, betrayal and fear. But who or what is the biggest threat: the documentary film crew, the Department of Linegraded Education or the troubled but gorgeous Rory, whose fascination with Lia unsettles Sam as much as his aggression? There is a battle to fight, but can it be won?

258 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Sue owes her love of words to her father and her storytelling to an imaginative childhood - and to the children she taught for many years before becoming a full-time author. As a teacher she wrote the Christmas productions and loved Story Time best. Inspired by Michael Morpurgo, she wrote THE WATERHOUSE GIRL, the story of Daisy, a girl who like Sue herself has alopecia, and was delighted when he rang her to tell her it was insightful, poignant and beautifully written. She now has sixteen novels for 6 - 16 and beyond, and writes historical,futuristic and contemporary stories, fantasy, adventures and mysteries. Sue still enjoys working with children when schools book her to inspire their pupils.

Reviews

[Lizzy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very short paragraphs made this uncomfy for me to read. Too many characters to keep track of and not quite believable enough. Did like the descriptions of the food etc, but would have liked a bit more of Sams daily life. It all seemed to be playing about- what about all the chores a horse brings? how come he has a horse anyway- and it doesn't seem to do anything except be a pet- surely they could plough with him, or use him to drag carts and stuff? How did they get him onto the island? wouldn't a pony be better suited to the amount of grazing available? Anyway, thanks Sue.

[Luke Heaver · Rating 3 out of 5]

More than anything, this book reminded me how enriching stories can be. Especially, in this case, fiction. I’ve been reading a fair bit of non-fiction and with that can come the gravitas of a true story and/or self help, which tends to have less light relief. Using a lens of direct perspective to the real world. Whereas, non-fiction gives you the freedom of using your imagination and drawing parallels that way. I find this easier to digest in some ways.

This book may be children’s fiction (it’s signed by the author, so I’m pretty sure I picked it up at school when they visited for a talk), but, still, the story line raised a lot of questions about where our technology driven society is heading today and how are we going to balance that with being connected to nature and our deeper expressions as messy loving humans. It was hard to keep up with at times as the book is a strange structure of multiple viewpoints, constantly switching and the plot did definitely lose its moment in the middle. However, all in all, I found it an enjoyable read with an uplifting, hopeful ending, eluding to future change. This was comforting, considering the times we find ourselves in. A good night-time read.