What do you think?
Rate this book
Contract City
Welcome to Tulsa, Oklahoma—the City of the Future™
From Elite Medical Services™ to Professional Personal Security®
Rest Assured that You and Your Family are in Good Hands.
The year is 2021 and the money is still green. The fully privatized city of Tulsa, OK, is home to Sara Paige Christie, a teenage girl with her heart set on a film career in L.A. and her camera trained on the graffiti-covered walls of the city's outskirts. In pursuit of a documentary subject that might propel her from college hopeful to film school admittee at USC, Sara has focused her ambitions upon a singularly ubiquitous tag—WH2RR??
From the facades of storefronts to the walls of public restrooms, the tag is appearing nearly everywhere. Its stark all-capital letters and demanding question marks have captured Sara's imagination, even as the private security personnel of Free Force Tulsa (FFT) scramble to eliminate the marks with power washers, gray-overs, and full censorship, stripping even photographs of the tags from the locally accessible Internet.
Sara has no doubt that there is meaning hidden in plain sight, and she sets off on a mission to find the person behind the mysterious tags while balancing an already full life: her final exams, her wild best friend, a physical fitness test that threatens her GPA, and a family that seems almost oblivious to what's happening just down the street from their suburban home.
With the exception, perhaps, of her father.
A retired Marine turned FFT investigator, Sara's dad has been on the trail of the graffiti artist for his own professional reasons. And if he knows what’s going on, he's not telling Sara.
And they're not the only ones on the hunt . . .
Tensions are rising in town and beyond. Between the machinations of the city's home-grown megachurch, Chosen Hill, and the movements of a growing camp of homeless citizens parked just beyond Tulsa's comfort and security, life in Tulsa is about to become very interesting, and Sara just might be in the right place to catch it all on film . . .
. . . but only if she survives.
From Elite Medical Services™ to Professional Personal Security®
Rest Assured that You and Your Family are in Good Hands.
The year is 2021 and the money is still green. The fully privatized city of Tulsa, OK, is home to Sara Paige Christie, a teenage girl with her heart set on a film career in L.A. and her camera trained on the graffiti-covered walls of the city's outskirts. In pursuit of a documentary subject that might propel her from college hopeful to film school admittee at USC, Sara has focused her ambitions upon a singularly ubiquitous tag—WH2RR??
From the facades of storefronts to the walls of public restrooms, the tag is appearing nearly everywhere. Its stark all-capital letters and demanding question marks have captured Sara's imagination, even as the private security personnel of Free Force Tulsa (FFT) scramble to eliminate the marks with power washers, gray-overs, and full censorship, stripping even photographs of the tags from the locally accessible Internet.
Sara has no doubt that there is meaning hidden in plain sight, and she sets off on a mission to find the person behind the mysterious tags while balancing an already full life: her final exams, her wild best friend, a physical fitness test that threatens her GPA, and a family that seems almost oblivious to what's happening just down the street from their suburban home.
With the exception, perhaps, of her father.
A retired Marine turned FFT investigator, Sara's dad has been on the trail of the graffiti artist for his own professional reasons. And if he knows what’s going on, he's not telling Sara.
And they're not the only ones on the hunt . . .
Tensions are rising in town and beyond. Between the machinations of the city's home-grown megachurch, Chosen Hill, and the movements of a growing camp of homeless citizens parked just beyond Tulsa's comfort and security, life in Tulsa is about to become very interesting, and Sara just might be in the right place to catch it all on film . . .
. . . but only if she survives.
270 pages, Hardcover
First published March 10, 2015
3 people are currently reading
429 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
January 15, 2015
I received this as a galley.
Contract City has all the makings of pitch-perfect near future dystopia. The novel follows a high school student named Sara with her heart set on a career as a filmmaker. The main character's initial naivety about both the nature of her selected subject, graffiti artists leaving the tag WH2RR?? in ink and paint all around the city, and the corruption at the heart of her seemingly perfect suburban life make for a fantastic series of discoveries and plot twists.
Sara Christie does not have the characteristics of today's popular heroines: she's not tall, fast, nor particularly strong. In fact she's on the verge of failing a fitness test in an otherwise stellar year of academic performance. She is at times downright frightened by the trouble she falls in--and she should be--but the choices she makes in pursuit of truth and art bring out her inner strength, and that was worth reading!
One crucial arc for the novel is the centennial of Tulsa, Oklahoma's 1921 Race Riot; a scar in history still felt in 2014 with the deaths of several unarmed black men, and the outrage and protests that followed. The author must have had his finger on that pulse because the parallels are eerily accurate, and speak to how critical the conversations about race, privatization, surveillance, and ultimately control,/i> truly are in our society and for our future.
I'd recommend this book to anyone with an eye for street art, surveillance/sousveillance, sci-fi, YA, coming-of-age, and the kind of revolution they don't want televised...
Contract City has all the makings of pitch-perfect near future dystopia. The novel follows a high school student named Sara with her heart set on a career as a filmmaker. The main character's initial naivety about both the nature of her selected subject, graffiti artists leaving the tag WH2RR?? in ink and paint all around the city, and the corruption at the heart of her seemingly perfect suburban life make for a fantastic series of discoveries and plot twists.
Sara Christie does not have the characteristics of today's popular heroines: she's not tall, fast, nor particularly strong. In fact she's on the verge of failing a fitness test in an otherwise stellar year of academic performance. She is at times downright frightened by the trouble she falls in--and she should be--but the choices she makes in pursuit of truth and art bring out her inner strength, and that was worth reading!
One crucial arc for the novel is the centennial of Tulsa, Oklahoma's 1921 Race Riot; a scar in history still felt in 2014 with the deaths of several unarmed black men, and the outrage and protests that followed. The author must have had his finger on that pulse because the parallels are eerily accurate, and speak to how critical the conversations about race, privatization, surveillance, and ultimately control,/i> truly are in our society and for our future.
I'd recommend this book to anyone with an eye for street art, surveillance/sousveillance, sci-fi, YA, coming-of-age, and the kind of revolution they don't want televised...
January 15, 2015
This is a really well done YA dystopian fiction. But to call it dystopian is almost a misnomer; this book has a few clever sci-fi bends but it is frighteningly close to reality, with subject matter seemingly ripped from recent headlines.
The main character, Sara Paige Christie, is a high school student looking to impress college admissions with a documentary film, and the subject that's caught her interest is a series of mysterious graffiti tags: WH2RR?? The tags start popping up everywhere but as soon as they appear they're taken down or painted over by the local private police force. Information about the tags is scrubbed from the Internet and the identity of the tagger is completely unknown--until Sara stumbles across another bit of film linked to her documentary, and begins to follow the trail back to the origin.
Though as you'd expect, she's not the only one on the hunt, and the closer she gets to the truth the more danger mounts around her.
With plot twists and turns and a well developed heroine, this is one thrill ride of a book!
The main character, Sara Paige Christie, is a high school student looking to impress college admissions with a documentary film, and the subject that's caught her interest is a series of mysterious graffiti tags: WH2RR?? The tags start popping up everywhere but as soon as they appear they're taken down or painted over by the local private police force. Information about the tags is scrubbed from the Internet and the identity of the tagger is completely unknown--until Sara stumbles across another bit of film linked to her documentary, and begins to follow the trail back to the origin.
Though as you'd expect, she's not the only one on the hunt, and the closer she gets to the truth the more danger mounts around her.
With plot twists and turns and a well developed heroine, this is one thrill ride of a book!
May 4, 2015
Intense! I loved this book because I wanted to know how it ended almost from the start. Refreshing intelligent characters with depth and dimension who must solve a mystery beyond their comprehension and frame of reference. Will appeal to young adult and far beyond. A good read!
June 14, 2018
Through out this book, I kept thinking how easily this could be us.
February 24, 2015
Contract City is an intelligent YA dystopian set in the country's first fully privatized city, Tulsa, Oklahoma. I use the term "dystopian," lightly because the world Falkin created is so realistic, that the story balances right on the edge between sci-fi and reality. Set in the very near future, Tulsa has become the first city to become completely privatized, with services such as police, hospitals, and schools run by private corporations. But more is going on than what meets the eye. Sara, a teenage documentary film-maker, begins investigating some graffiti that shows up everywhere--the tag WH2RR??. What starts as an interesting documentary subject to help her break into the film scene, becomes a deeper and darker mystery, and soon she is hunted by the private police squad as they try to obtain her footage.
Contract City strikes the perfect balance between intelligent and action-packed. The world, the characters, and the story are smart and timely, but that doesn't stop Falkin from creating a fast-paced and exciting story. I loved that he wasn't afraid to create a dystopian that's subtle and realistic--a believable glimpse into a real, near future. But my favorite thing about the story was Sara. She's a wonderful, strong YA protagonist. The young artist is brave, clever, curious, and cares about the world around her. She is strong and vulnerable at once which makes her relatable and easy to root for. Although tackling big, real issues, she also has to navigate the challenges of youth, such as finding her place in the world and experiencing a first love. I was on her side from page one.
I believe that teens and adults alike will appreciate the intelligence and reality behind this story, and will be rooting for Sara along with me. I enjoyed drinking in every page.
Contract City strikes the perfect balance between intelligent and action-packed. The world, the characters, and the story are smart and timely, but that doesn't stop Falkin from creating a fast-paced and exciting story. I loved that he wasn't afraid to create a dystopian that's subtle and realistic--a believable glimpse into a real, near future. But my favorite thing about the story was Sara. She's a wonderful, strong YA protagonist. The young artist is brave, clever, curious, and cares about the world around her. She is strong and vulnerable at once which makes her relatable and easy to root for. Although tackling big, real issues, she also has to navigate the challenges of youth, such as finding her place in the world and experiencing a first love. I was on her side from page one.
I believe that teens and adults alike will appreciate the intelligence and reality behind this story, and will be rooting for Sara along with me. I enjoyed drinking in every page.
May 31, 2015
I found this book at the Veterans Outpatient Clinic on Friday May 29th. The center has a free lending / trading book area. I had forgotten the book I was already involved in, so when this book Contract City caught my eye mostly due to its female protagonist I began to read. I am able to tell within a few pages whether or not I will continue or dump and run. Within the cover of the book I discovered that this book had been won by I assume another Veteran via Goodreads. This book captured my attention even when I had figured out the conclusion halfway through I wanted to continue on just to be sure. I would recommend this read to young adults who absolutely need to understand both sides of a coin.
March 1, 2015
Mark Falkin brings a new, interesting take on conspiracy and misunderstanding-based novels that will leave the reader asking "WH2RR??"
Contract City is chalked full of historical references and witty, imaginative language. I would recommend this book to an older teen to adult as there are a few graphic scenes.
Sara's complex family dynamic is relatable and her determination to make her documentary inspires the reader to uncover the mysteries along with her.
The descriptions of the film shots painted imaginatively colorful pictures and convinced me that this book would most likely make an interesting film.
Contract City is chalked full of historical references and witty, imaginative language. I would recommend this book to an older teen to adult as there are a few graphic scenes.
Sara's complex family dynamic is relatable and her determination to make her documentary inspires the reader to uncover the mysteries along with her.
The descriptions of the film shots painted imaginatively colorful pictures and convinced me that this book would most likely make an interesting film.
May 4, 2015
Contract City started a bit slow for me, but once I got into it, I couldn't put it down. There are constant twists throughout the book and the meaning of wh2rr?? is a surprise as well. Tulsa is the Contract City and it is an experiment in contract cities. The book takes place in 2021 and the present story is tied in with a happening 100 years past. The characters and the story are well written.
I would recommend this book for older teens to adults.
I received this book free from Goodreads First Reads.
I would recommend this book for older teens to adults.
I received this book free from Goodreads First Reads.
August 1, 2015
I won this book From BookTrib. Although listed as a YA novel, I think it would appeal to adults - especially those that follow current events. It takes place in Tulsa in 2021. After reading the first chapter, MAX HEADROOM came to mind. (If you're to young to know this series, it's now available on DVD.). High school student, Sara, starts making a documentary film to use as a way into college for a career in film making. What she finds is racism, her parents' secrets, and a caste system in this city of the future. Her film sparks rioting and progressive change.
May 14, 2015
Don't call it dystopian, because it really isn't, and don't call it YA, because it really isn't that either. What it is is a gripping near-future noir suspense tale where the politics and themes are window dressing. It's the heroine we pull for, and we do so with white knuckles and gritted teeth. A mash up of Nancy Drew meets Chuck Palahniuk in a all-too-realistic Fahrenheit 451-esque world, this one's special, and should help put the rest of these YA dystopias to shame. WH2RR?? baby.
September 14, 2015
WH2RR??, any idea what that means? Then grab a copy of Contract City and find out. The future of the United States and Tulsa seem a bit bleak, at least in this story. This was an interesting read with a unique plot and some bizarre characters. I thoroughly enjoyed this one!
May 9, 2015
Could not finish. My first clue that this book was not for me was the number of reviewers that used the word 'dystopian' in their reviews.
June 3, 2015
No stars. I feel sick after reading this book. This was disturbing on so many wrong levels.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews