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City Five #1
The Diary of Pelly-D
Young building worker, Toni V, finds a diary buried in a water can in the rubble of a construction site. He knows he should just hand it in to the Supervisor - that's the rule. But curiosity gets the better of him and he starts reading. At first the diarist, Pelly D, seems like any ordinary girl, writing about clothes, parties, boys. But underneath the light, sassy, often sarcastic narrative, Toni V begins to sense that something very different, sinister, and scary is unfolding. Set far in the future and on a distant planet, Pelly D's diary bears witness, through the eyes of a young girl, to the terrifying consequences of genetic classification.
208 pages, Paperback
First published February 17, 2005
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1440 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 131 reviews
June 9, 2009
There's an old adage/cliche: "Don't judge a book by it's cover."
I think that is quite fitting for The Diary of Pelly D by LJ Adlington. First it came highly recommended by a patron, who insisted I move it to the top of my reading list. So I listened to her. And after the first few pages I was surprised that this was the book she was telling me I had to read. Pelly D is a shallow character, obsessed with money, boys, and popularity. Hmmm . . . maybe I judged this girl wrong and have been recommending the wrong kinds of books to her. But this diary is found, by a lowly grunt worker named Toni V, in a city being rebuilt. Something more interesting has happened to Pelly D. Something more gripping has to happen to Pelly D, something more than necking and swimming and dreading school.
As the story progresses something does happen. Another city away from Pelly's is running low on water, something her people need to live, and workers are being drafted from her city to help the cause. And then a "war" breaks out. I call it a "war," because Pelly doesn't want to believe that's what it is. There isn't supposed to be war on this planet, called Home From Home. So while it seems like war, she wants to pretend it isn't happening. Worse than war happens to, and that is what making Pelly such a shallow character helps with. She wants to be strong, she wants to imagine things won't happen to her, but they seem all the more devastating when they do. Because it isn't that Pelly is shallow, it's that she's naive.
Overall, The Diary of Pelly D is a fascinating read, maybe a little confusing at times, leaving plenty of questions unanswered. But isn't that the nature of war? It isn't always cut and dry. We don't always get the answers we want or feel we deserve. There are a few other flaws to, it is uneven and repetitive at times, but still a great read.
The greatest accomplishment though is the end. It's a shocking twist. I couldn't believe what had happened. And I'll leave it at that.
I think that is quite fitting for The Diary of Pelly D by LJ Adlington. First it came highly recommended by a patron, who insisted I move it to the top of my reading list. So I listened to her. And after the first few pages I was surprised that this was the book she was telling me I had to read. Pelly D is a shallow character, obsessed with money, boys, and popularity. Hmmm . . . maybe I judged this girl wrong and have been recommending the wrong kinds of books to her. But this diary is found, by a lowly grunt worker named Toni V, in a city being rebuilt. Something more interesting has happened to Pelly D. Something more gripping has to happen to Pelly D, something more than necking and swimming and dreading school.
As the story progresses something does happen. Another city away from Pelly's is running low on water, something her people need to live, and workers are being drafted from her city to help the cause. And then a "war" breaks out. I call it a "war," because Pelly doesn't want to believe that's what it is. There isn't supposed to be war on this planet, called Home From Home. So while it seems like war, she wants to pretend it isn't happening. Worse than war happens to, and that is what making Pelly such a shallow character helps with. She wants to be strong, she wants to imagine things won't happen to her, but they seem all the more devastating when they do. Because it isn't that Pelly is shallow, it's that she's naive.
Overall, The Diary of Pelly D is a fascinating read, maybe a little confusing at times, leaving plenty of questions unanswered. But isn't that the nature of war? It isn't always cut and dry. We don't always get the answers we want or feel we deserve. There are a few other flaws to, it is uneven and repetitive at times, but still a great read.
The greatest accomplishment though is the end. It's a shocking twist. I couldn't believe what had happened. And I'll leave it at that.
August 28, 2025
#Binge reviewing my previous Reads #Science Fiction
When I picked up L.J. Adlington’s The Diary of Pelly D in 2022, the world outside was finally unclenching from the long, anxious grip of Covid. Masks were coming off, restrictions were easing, and everyone was eager to declare things “back to normal”.
Nevertheless, if the pandemic had taught us anything, it was how fragile that normal really is, how quickly the structures we lean on can dissolve into something strange and threatening. That’s exactly the space Adlington’s novel inhabits, which made it feel both timely and unsettling in a way I hadn’t expected.
The book is set in a post-war city scarred by conflict, where society is attempting to rebuild itself.
Tony V, a teenager working on a construction crew, stumbles across a hidden diary buried under rubble.
The diary belongs to Pelly D, a popular girl whose life begins in trivialities—gossip, clothes, parties, and the exhausting politics of teen social circles—but slowly spirals into a record of a civilisation sliding toward catastrophe. What begins as the pettiest of concerns soon morphs into something darker as genetic identity, authoritarian rule, and deep-seated prejudice fracture her world beyond recognition.
At first, Pelly D comes across as shallow, even irritating. Her diary entries are laced with vanity, with an almost obsessive attention to the superficial details of her life. It feels frivolous, even grating. However, as the story progresses, the trivial voice becomes a trapdoor.
You’re lulled into thinking this is just the voice of a spoilt girl—and then, suddenly, you’re plunged into the collapse of her society. The genius of Adlington’s structure is that by the time Pelly D starts realising what is happening around her, you have been pulled close enough to care.
Her growth, her increasing awareness, and her helplessness in the face of brutal systems hit harder precisely, because of where she started.
There is no single “villain” in this dystopia, and that makes it all the more frightening. Instead, it’s a society collapsing under the weight of prejudice and paranoia, amplified by fear and sanctioned by authority. People are divided by genetics, labelled and sorted in ways that strip them of dignity.
The war, the social breakdown, the injustices Pelly D begins to notice — they don’t come from a dramatic overthrow or some tyrannical overlord. They come from ordinary people letting fear and division spread unchecked. Reading it in 2022, when the world was emerging from a crisis that had itself magnified social divisions, it felt uncomfortably close.
What stayed with me is the intimacy of the diary form. Unlike many dystopias that give you sweeping rebellions or grand acts of defiance, this one whispers. It unfolds through the personal thoughts of a girl who never asked to be a witness to history. The horror is filtered through ordinary teenage concerns, which makes it sharper.
You’re not watching a revolution; you’re reading someone’s diary about a party that was cancelled, a fight with a friend, and a strange new rule that at first feels inconvenient and then, suddenly, terrifying. The gradual shift makes the collapse of her world not just believable but inevitable.
And that’s what made it resonate so deeply for me in the moment I read it. Coming out of Covid, we were all hungry for lightness, for escape. Yet here was a book reminding me of how easily societies unravel, how quickly the everyday can turn alien.
Pelly D’s story is a cautionary tale, but not in a heavy-handed, didactic way. It doesn’t preach. Instead, it lingers in the space between ordinary life and extraordinary collapse, showing how fragile that line really is.
Adlington manages to blend the immediacy of young adult fiction with the thematic weight of classic dystopia. The diary voice makes it personal, intimate, almost claustrophobic, while the backdrop of genetic apartheid and social control keeps expanding the scale. It’s both a coming-of-age story and a warning, both trivial and profound.
And it leaves you unsettled because it doesn’t close neatly. Diaries never do.
Reading The Diary of Pelly D as the world staggered toward recovery made it impossible not to reflect on our own fragilities. The book isn’t flashy, but that’s its strength.
It’s quiet, insidious, and far too believable — the kind of dystopia that doesn’t ask whether collapse could happen, but shows how easily it already is.
When I picked up L.J. Adlington’s The Diary of Pelly D in 2022, the world outside was finally unclenching from the long, anxious grip of Covid. Masks were coming off, restrictions were easing, and everyone was eager to declare things “back to normal”.
Nevertheless, if the pandemic had taught us anything, it was how fragile that normal really is, how quickly the structures we lean on can dissolve into something strange and threatening. That’s exactly the space Adlington’s novel inhabits, which made it feel both timely and unsettling in a way I hadn’t expected.
The book is set in a post-war city scarred by conflict, where society is attempting to rebuild itself.
Tony V, a teenager working on a construction crew, stumbles across a hidden diary buried under rubble.
The diary belongs to Pelly D, a popular girl whose life begins in trivialities—gossip, clothes, parties, and the exhausting politics of teen social circles—but slowly spirals into a record of a civilisation sliding toward catastrophe. What begins as the pettiest of concerns soon morphs into something darker as genetic identity, authoritarian rule, and deep-seated prejudice fracture her world beyond recognition.
At first, Pelly D comes across as shallow, even irritating. Her diary entries are laced with vanity, with an almost obsessive attention to the superficial details of her life. It feels frivolous, even grating. However, as the story progresses, the trivial voice becomes a trapdoor.
You’re lulled into thinking this is just the voice of a spoilt girl—and then, suddenly, you’re plunged into the collapse of her society. The genius of Adlington’s structure is that by the time Pelly D starts realising what is happening around her, you have been pulled close enough to care.
Her growth, her increasing awareness, and her helplessness in the face of brutal systems hit harder precisely, because of where she started.
There is no single “villain” in this dystopia, and that makes it all the more frightening. Instead, it’s a society collapsing under the weight of prejudice and paranoia, amplified by fear and sanctioned by authority. People are divided by genetics, labelled and sorted in ways that strip them of dignity.
The war, the social breakdown, the injustices Pelly D begins to notice — they don’t come from a dramatic overthrow or some tyrannical overlord. They come from ordinary people letting fear and division spread unchecked. Reading it in 2022, when the world was emerging from a crisis that had itself magnified social divisions, it felt uncomfortably close.
What stayed with me is the intimacy of the diary form. Unlike many dystopias that give you sweeping rebellions or grand acts of defiance, this one whispers. It unfolds through the personal thoughts of a girl who never asked to be a witness to history. The horror is filtered through ordinary teenage concerns, which makes it sharper.
You’re not watching a revolution; you’re reading someone’s diary about a party that was cancelled, a fight with a friend, and a strange new rule that at first feels inconvenient and then, suddenly, terrifying. The gradual shift makes the collapse of her world not just believable but inevitable.
And that’s what made it resonate so deeply for me in the moment I read it. Coming out of Covid, we were all hungry for lightness, for escape. Yet here was a book reminding me of how easily societies unravel, how quickly the everyday can turn alien.
Pelly D’s story is a cautionary tale, but not in a heavy-handed, didactic way. It doesn’t preach. Instead, it lingers in the space between ordinary life and extraordinary collapse, showing how fragile that line really is.
Adlington manages to blend the immediacy of young adult fiction with the thematic weight of classic dystopia. The diary voice makes it personal, intimate, almost claustrophobic, while the backdrop of genetic apartheid and social control keeps expanding the scale. It’s both a coming-of-age story and a warning, both trivial and profound.
And it leaves you unsettled because it doesn’t close neatly. Diaries never do.
Reading The Diary of Pelly D as the world staggered toward recovery made it impossible not to reflect on our own fragilities. The book isn’t flashy, but that’s its strength.
It’s quiet, insidious, and far too believable — the kind of dystopia that doesn’t ask whether collapse could happen, but shows how easily it already is.
February 12, 2012
Text Summary
It is after the war and Toni V, a teenager working for City 5’s demolition crew, begins his drilling on the planet Home from Home. On this day of drilling, Toni V comes across a notebook hidden inside an old water can. The notebook turns out to be the diary of a teenager, Pelly D, who was living the privileged life before the war. However, when the war begins, a rivalry between the three “gene families” (the Atsumisi, the Galrezi, and the Mazzini) erupts, and everyone is forced to be tested for gene ancestry. Pelly D and her family turn out to be Galrezi, the undesirable of the three based on the social hierarchy that has formed, so they are forced to move to a “ghetto” and are branded with a “G.” As the life of Pelly D unfolds through the pages of her diary, Toni V develops questions about the girl he is reading about and concerns about the message scribbled on the front of the notebook: “dig—dig everywhere.”
Literary merits
On her author website, L.J Adlington reveals where she gained the inspiration for this novel: “The Diary of Pelly D was inspired by a mere footnote in history, but one that resonated very strongly with me. I read about a diary, found in a milk can during the rebuilding of Warsaw after German occupation. I couldn't help thinking, 'What if...?' Right there, at that footnote, that's where my story began.” Throughout her novel, Adlington constructs parallels to this historical tragedy by way of Pelly D’s experiences. Adlington carefully weaves the two narratives of Toni V (present) and Pelly D (past) throughout the novel. So, as Toni V reads Pelly D’s diary, he raises questions and concerns that help the reader navigate Pelly D’s diary entries. On the other side, the naïve perspective of Pelly D, as she experiences the war, draws out a real and emotional response from the reader.
Classroom Recommendations
High school students who have received some background on the Holocaust and Nazi Occupation of Europe during WWII may find it easier to navigate the story and themes of this text. Other titles to consider pairing with this one include: (noted by Adlington on her website) Long Shadows. Truth, Lies and History, Erna Paris, Bloomsbury; Diary of Ann Frank; Salvaged Pages. Young Writers' Diaries of the Holocaust, edited by Alexandra Zapruder. Through these texts, students may explore themes of prejudice, racism, and the impact of war through the eyes of young adults.
It is after the war and Toni V, a teenager working for City 5’s demolition crew, begins his drilling on the planet Home from Home. On this day of drilling, Toni V comes across a notebook hidden inside an old water can. The notebook turns out to be the diary of a teenager, Pelly D, who was living the privileged life before the war. However, when the war begins, a rivalry between the three “gene families” (the Atsumisi, the Galrezi, and the Mazzini) erupts, and everyone is forced to be tested for gene ancestry. Pelly D and her family turn out to be Galrezi, the undesirable of the three based on the social hierarchy that has formed, so they are forced to move to a “ghetto” and are branded with a “G.” As the life of Pelly D unfolds through the pages of her diary, Toni V develops questions about the girl he is reading about and concerns about the message scribbled on the front of the notebook: “dig—dig everywhere.”
Literary merits
On her author website, L.J Adlington reveals where she gained the inspiration for this novel: “The Diary of Pelly D was inspired by a mere footnote in history, but one that resonated very strongly with me. I read about a diary, found in a milk can during the rebuilding of Warsaw after German occupation. I couldn't help thinking, 'What if...?' Right there, at that footnote, that's where my story began.” Throughout her novel, Adlington constructs parallels to this historical tragedy by way of Pelly D’s experiences. Adlington carefully weaves the two narratives of Toni V (present) and Pelly D (past) throughout the novel. So, as Toni V reads Pelly D’s diary, he raises questions and concerns that help the reader navigate Pelly D’s diary entries. On the other side, the naïve perspective of Pelly D, as she experiences the war, draws out a real and emotional response from the reader.
Classroom Recommendations
High school students who have received some background on the Holocaust and Nazi Occupation of Europe during WWII may find it easier to navigate the story and themes of this text. Other titles to consider pairing with this one include: (noted by Adlington on her website) Long Shadows. Truth, Lies and History, Erna Paris, Bloomsbury; Diary of Ann Frank; Salvaged Pages. Young Writers' Diaries of the Holocaust, edited by Alexandra Zapruder. Through these texts, students may explore themes of prejudice, racism, and the impact of war through the eyes of young adults.
September 11, 2022
I tried to read this book a few years ago, but couldn't seem to get past the first couple of pages. Once again, this was a difficult book for me to get into. It took me at least a day and a half to read the first thiry pages or so. After I was into it, it became an easier read because I was curious to see what happened to Pelly D. and Toni V. Adlington created a new world for her readers, but failed to establish it. She threw out some hints here and there for the reader to pick up, but it was still hard to create an overall picture in my mind of the setting of this story. The Toni V. intervals of the books also bothered me because it really disturbed me that these people were still submitting themselves to the brainwashing and the "rules and regulations" of the Hitler figure of the novel. It bothered me because I think that Adlington intended to write a resonating story, but it ended up sounding like a preachy "warning to mankind" kind of story. And speaking of Hitler, if it wouldn't have been for a few name and setting changes here and there, this is the exact story of the Holocaust everyone is familiar with. This is fine, but the names and setting of the novel aren't enough to make it a unique, original piece. Overall, this book was just "okay," and I probably won't pick it up to read it again.
March 4, 2018
Allgemeines:
Titel: Gen-Tattoo
Autor: L. J. Adlington
Verlag: Carlsen (14. Februar 2011)
Genre: Dystopie
Taschenbuch: 192 Seiten
ISBN-10: 3794170369
ISBN-13: 978-3794170364
Originaltitel: The Diary of Pelly D
Vom Hersteller empfohlenes Alter: 13 - 16 Jahre
Preis: 6,95€ (Taschenbuch)
Inhalt:
Pelly lebt auf dem Planeten »Home for Home« wie im Paradies. Ihr Leben dreht sich nur um Klamotten, Partys und Jungs. Doch das ändert sich, als ein Gen-Tattoo eingeführt wird und man Pelly aufgrund ihrer Gene als »Galrezi« einstuft. Denn eine winzige DNA-Abweichung macht die Galrezi zu perfekten Sündenböcken für die Probleme des Planeten - die plötzlich immer größer werden. Man beginnt sogar, sie zu deportieren. Eines Tages bricht auch Pellys Tagebuch abrupt ab ...
Bewertung:
Dieses Buch steht schon eine ganze Weile in meinem Regal, ich habe es vor kurzem nur mal wieder zur Hand genommen, weil ich in einer Rezension gelesen habe, die "Pretty-Ugly-Special"-Reihe, die ich ja vor kurzem gelesen habe, sei komplett auf der Idee dieses Romans aufgebaut worden. Das wollte ich natürlich überprüfen und da das Buch nur knappe 200 Seiten hatte, habe ich es kurzerhand geschnappt und angefangen zu schmökern.
Die verschiedenen Ausgaben des Buches und vor allem deren fehlende Verfügbarkeit haben mich ein wenig verwirrt, als ich begonnen habe, über diesen Roman zu recherchieren. Die Carlsen-Ausgabe ist die Neuauflage der Geschichte, welche schon 2005 im Sauerländer Verlag herausgekommen ist. Seltsamerweise lässt sich die Geschichte aber im Carlsen-Repertoire nicht finden. Alles was ich nun habe ist das Coverbild und das Buch, welches es aber so gar nicht mehr zu bestellen gibt. Auch von einem ominösen zweiten Teil habe ich gelesen, welcher anscheinend nicht übersetzt wurde. Auf eine englische Fortsetzung bin ich aber nicht gestoßen. Ihr müsst mir meine Verwirrung verzeihen, falls irgendjemand besser bescheid weiß als ich wäre es super, wenn er/sie mich aufklären könnte! Naja, was soll´s. Ich finde das Cover auf jeden Fall sehr ansprechend! Mit dem leuchtend-pixeligen DNA-Doppelstrang, welcher sich vor dem resignierten Gesicht eines windet, passt es gut zum Inhalt der Geschichte und der dunkle Hintergrund lässt das Ganze ein wenig geheimnisvoll wirken. Auf jeden Fall kommt aber eine Science-Fiction-Stimmung auf, was ein großer Fortschritt zum letzten Cover des Sauerländerverlags ist, auf dem nur eine Hand und Wasser zusehen ist. Auch der Titel passt wunder.
Erster Satz: "Als der Staub sich legte, nahm Toni V für einen Moment die Schutzbrille ab und rieb sich die Augen."
Direkt zum Beginn werden wir mit zwei verschiedenen Handlungsstränge konfrontiert, die vor und nach einem ominösen Krieg spielen, bei dem man aber nie erfährt was genau passiert und wer warum gegen wen kämpft. Mit den ersten Seiten steigen wir ein in das Leben des ärmlichen Toni V, welcher als Arbeiter beim Abrissteam die futuristische City 5 auf den kommenden Aufschwung und Neubau vorbereitet. Um der wachsenden Stadt Komfort und Luxus zu ermöglichen, welchen er sich niemals würde leisten können, muss der junge Mann täglich Schwerstarbeit leisten. Doch das stört ihn noch nicht einmal - der Lärm seines Presslufthammers verdrängt jeden kritischen Gedanken und die Müdigkeit lässt keinen Platz für Rebellionsgeist. Das ändert sich jedoch schlagartig, als er eines Tages bei Graben auf der alten Plaza ein Tagebuch findet. Verpackt in einem Plastikkanister hat das kleine Büchlein mit den innersten Gedanken und dem Schicksal von Pelly D den Krieg überstanden und findet jetzt den Weg zu Toni V. Wo Toni V am Anfang noch über die luxuriöse Lebensweise des jungen Mädchens staunt, verändert sich ihre Situation durch das Aufkommen von Gen-Tests und anderen fanatischen Ideen jedoch langsam und ihre Geschichte wird ein reißender Abwärtsstrudel, angetrieben von Rassismus, Fanatismus und der Suche nach einem Sündenbock...
"Das ist genau der Punkt, Pelly, sagte er. Es geht nicht um Wasser. Es ging nie darum. Sie werden uns nirgendwo hinbringen. Sie werden...
-"Hör auf!"
Sehr bald nach Beginn der Geschichte stellte sich bei mir Ernüchterung ein. Vor allem der flapsige Tagebuchstil, welcher bald über drei Viertel der Handlung dominiert und in erster Linie die vielen &-Zeichen, die das dafürstehende Wort vollkommen ersetzen, raubten mir den letzten Nerv. Auch scheint Pelly Ds Geschichte kein besonders spannendes Buch zu füllen vermögen. Sie lebt ein sorgenfreies Dasein mit mehr Geld als sie jemals an sehen kann und hohem Ansehen als "Queen Bee" ihrer Schule. Sie braucht sich über nichts Gedanken machen - außer vielleicht darüber, ob ihre neuste Markenmode vielleicht schon wieder out ist - und lässt sich auch gerne auf Sticheleien gegen weniger bemittelte Mitschülern, wie zum Beispiel Marek T ein. Kurzum: sie ist ein naives, nerviges, verwöhntes, eingebildetes und oberflächliches Miststück. Obwohl die Handlung eigentlich in seiner Zeit spielt, liegt der Fokus eindeutig auf Pelly und er ist nur eine Art blasse Randfigur. Indem sich die Handlung vor allem auf ihn konzentriert und seine Lebensumstände unklar bleiben, wird sehr viel Potential verschenkt.
Der Tagebuchstil hat aber auch eine positive Seite: dadurch, dass wir durch die Tagebuchform nur sehr bruchstückhaft aus ihrem Leben erfahren, bleibt die Entwicklung der politischen Lage spannend und undurchsichtig. Wir wissen nur das, was Pelly weiß oder was durch Tonis Alltag offensichtlich ist. So ist von Anfang an klar, dass es einen Krieg geben muss. Warum und wer gegen wen kämpft, bleibt jedoch erstmal unklar.
"Ich bin FEST ENTSCHLOSSEN. Ich werde es NICHT zulassen, dass diese dämliche Politik mir meinen Tag versaut. Ich werde allen zeigen, was wahre KLASSE ist. Die Atsumisi können mich mal! Ihre hämischen Blicke sind mir so was von egal. Schreite den Schulkorridor entlang, als gehöre er dir alleine, Pelly D! Blick nach vorn in die Zukunft, Pelly D!"
Wenn die Geschichte zuvor noch spielerisch aus Pellys Leben erzählt hat, ändert das sich erst schleichend und dann immer drastischer als neue Gesetze vorschreiben, dass jeder Bürger bei einem Gentest seine Genkategorie erkennen lässt und sich je nach Güte ein andersfarbiges Tattoo auf die Hand stechen lässt. Rot für die privilegierten Atsumisi, Träger des geheimnisvollen Epi-Gens, von dem keiner so wirklich weiß, was es bewirken soll. Silber für die Mazzini, die dieses Gen zwar in sich tragen, es jedoch nicht ausgeprägt ist. Und Grün für die unterste Klasse, die Galrezi, denen auch Pellys Familie angehört. Als Pelly mit einem grünen Tattoo durch ihren Alltag läuft ist es, als sei sie stigmatisiert. Auch wenn sich alle einreden, dass der Genstatus egal ist, beginnt sie ihre Vormachtstellung in ihrer Clique zu verlieren und sieht sich auch so immer weiter abstürzen. So lange es geht, versucht sie ihre Not zu leugnen und ihr mit schicken Outfits und beißender Ironie zu begegnen, als sie jedoch gezwungen wird, ihr Zuhause zu verlassen und in ein kleines Appartement am anderen Ende des Plazas zu ziehen und auch weitere Sanktionen gegen Galrezis angekündigt werden, muss sie sich eingestehen, dass ein Krieg beginnt. Nicht nur die Bomben, die die Stadt immer wieder erschüttern, können ein Lied davon erzählen, auch das Verschwinden der Obdachlosen Moma Peg, welche Pellys langjährige Freundin war, spricht Bände. Und schließlich geht Pelly auch auf, was mit den Galrezis passiert, die angeblich nach City 1 beordert werden: auf dem Weg in eine strahlende Zukunft ist für sie kein Platz, weshalb sie entsorgt werden...
"Es liegen immer noch einzelne Schuhe auf der Plaza, neben zerfetzten Spruchbändern und Plakaten, die niemand mehr in die höhe halten wird. Es war wie eine Szene aus einem Film über unsere Vergangenheit auf unserer Erde. Bisher dachte ich, die Menschen seien gerade deshalb Lichtjahre bis zu Home for Home gereist, weil sie einem solchen Albtraum entfliehen wollten."
Als Pellys Tagebuch schließlich zu Ende geht, muss sich Toni V eingestehen, dass alles, woran er geglaubt hat Lügen sind und er eigentlich nichts weiß. Die Notiz "Grabt, grabt überall" weißt auf viele andere Schicksale hin, die nur noch auf Postkarten, Fotografien oder Tagebüchern existieren. Geschichten von ermordeten Familien, von einer ganzen ausgelöschten Rasse machen Toni klar, dass er auf einem Friedhof arbeitet....
An dieser Stelle, die leider erst ganz am Ende der Geschichte eintritt, beginnt sich dann endlich das wahre Potential der Story zu zeigen. Wenn es zuvor noch um Diskriminierung und Rassismus geht, wird nun klar, wie schnell es von einer scheinbar normalen Gesellschaft zu einem kompletten Unrechtssystem ist, welches mit faschistischen Mitteln eine hilflose Minderheit missachtet, ausgrenzt und schließlich sogar zu vernichten beginnt. Die Autorin zeigt hier sehr gewagt viele Parallelen zum Dritten Reich, dem 2. Weltkrieg und dem Holocaust auf und erinnert mit dem Tagebuch an die Geschichte der Anne Frank. Angepasst an dieses Science-Fiction-Universum ergibt sich daraus eine Gänsehaut-verursachende Geschichte, deren schockierende Wahrheit über den Plot hinausgeht.
"Das geht nicht", sagte ich. "Es ist mein Leben!" Er wandte sich um und sah mich seltsam an. "Das stimmt nicht. Es ist nur geliehen. Eines Tages musst du es zurückgeben."
"Das ist ja lächerlich. Das ist unser Zuhause. Hier leben wir."
"Du weißt wie es läuft, Pelly D. Jetzt wollen andere das gute Leben für sich."
"Glaubst du es wird so weitergehen? Die Atsumisi machen die Gesetze und wir müssen gehorchen?" Big Bro sah mir direkt in die Augen. Er weinte - zwei Tränen schimmerten auf seinem Gesicht. "Nein, Pelly D", sagte er. "Es wird nicht so weitergehen. Es wird noch viel schlimmer."
Angesichts der Tatsache, dass die Autorin nach bescheidenem Beginn noch so viel Tiefe und Tragik aus der Geschichte herausholen konnte, hätte ich mir für die 200 Seiten gerne noch ein wenig mehr Ausschmückungen und Details gewünscht, mehr über die Hintergründe der Science-Fiction-Welt und über andere Schicksale aus anderen Bevölkerungsschichten erfahren. Durch das Tagebuch haben wir eine sehr einseitige, wenn auch eindrückliche Sicht auf das Geschehende, das mahnend den Zeigefinger hebt und daran erinnert, dass alles immer wieder passieren kann - selbst wenn die Menschheit sich auf einem neuen Planeten eine eigentlich ideale Version des Lebens aufgebaut zu haben scheint. Man darf nie damit aufhören, alles zu hinterfragen. Wenn das genügend Leute tun und dann die Stimme erheben, würde es zu solchen wie in diesem Buch beschriebenen Fällen nicht kommen.
"Egal was passiert, wir werden zusammenbleiben.
Diese Gewissheit macht mir das Herz leichter.
Ich hielt seine Hand. Ganz fest.
"Wohin werden sie uns bringen?", fragte ich.
Er küsste meine Augen
"Werden wir zurückkommen?"
Er küsste meinen Mund."
Fazit:
Eine Gänsehaut-verursachende Idee: ein Anne-Frank-Szenario im Science-Fiction-Universum! Ein wenig wackelig in der Umsetzung aber dennoch lesenswert!
Titel: Gen-Tattoo
Autor: L. J. Adlington
Verlag: Carlsen (14. Februar 2011)
Genre: Dystopie
Taschenbuch: 192 Seiten
ISBN-10: 3794170369
ISBN-13: 978-3794170364
Originaltitel: The Diary of Pelly D
Vom Hersteller empfohlenes Alter: 13 - 16 Jahre
Preis: 6,95€ (Taschenbuch)
Inhalt:
Pelly lebt auf dem Planeten »Home for Home« wie im Paradies. Ihr Leben dreht sich nur um Klamotten, Partys und Jungs. Doch das ändert sich, als ein Gen-Tattoo eingeführt wird und man Pelly aufgrund ihrer Gene als »Galrezi« einstuft. Denn eine winzige DNA-Abweichung macht die Galrezi zu perfekten Sündenböcken für die Probleme des Planeten - die plötzlich immer größer werden. Man beginnt sogar, sie zu deportieren. Eines Tages bricht auch Pellys Tagebuch abrupt ab ...
Bewertung:
Dieses Buch steht schon eine ganze Weile in meinem Regal, ich habe es vor kurzem nur mal wieder zur Hand genommen, weil ich in einer Rezension gelesen habe, die "Pretty-Ugly-Special"-Reihe, die ich ja vor kurzem gelesen habe, sei komplett auf der Idee dieses Romans aufgebaut worden. Das wollte ich natürlich überprüfen und da das Buch nur knappe 200 Seiten hatte, habe ich es kurzerhand geschnappt und angefangen zu schmökern.
Die verschiedenen Ausgaben des Buches und vor allem deren fehlende Verfügbarkeit haben mich ein wenig verwirrt, als ich begonnen habe, über diesen Roman zu recherchieren. Die Carlsen-Ausgabe ist die Neuauflage der Geschichte, welche schon 2005 im Sauerländer Verlag herausgekommen ist. Seltsamerweise lässt sich die Geschichte aber im Carlsen-Repertoire nicht finden. Alles was ich nun habe ist das Coverbild und das Buch, welches es aber so gar nicht mehr zu bestellen gibt. Auch von einem ominösen zweiten Teil habe ich gelesen, welcher anscheinend nicht übersetzt wurde. Auf eine englische Fortsetzung bin ich aber nicht gestoßen. Ihr müsst mir meine Verwirrung verzeihen, falls irgendjemand besser bescheid weiß als ich wäre es super, wenn er/sie mich aufklären könnte! Naja, was soll´s. Ich finde das Cover auf jeden Fall sehr ansprechend! Mit dem leuchtend-pixeligen DNA-Doppelstrang, welcher sich vor dem resignierten Gesicht eines windet, passt es gut zum Inhalt der Geschichte und der dunkle Hintergrund lässt das Ganze ein wenig geheimnisvoll wirken. Auf jeden Fall kommt aber eine Science-Fiction-Stimmung auf, was ein großer Fortschritt zum letzten Cover des Sauerländerverlags ist, auf dem nur eine Hand und Wasser zusehen ist. Auch der Titel passt wunder.
Erster Satz: "Als der Staub sich legte, nahm Toni V für einen Moment die Schutzbrille ab und rieb sich die Augen."
Direkt zum Beginn werden wir mit zwei verschiedenen Handlungsstränge konfrontiert, die vor und nach einem ominösen Krieg spielen, bei dem man aber nie erfährt was genau passiert und wer warum gegen wen kämpft. Mit den ersten Seiten steigen wir ein in das Leben des ärmlichen Toni V, welcher als Arbeiter beim Abrissteam die futuristische City 5 auf den kommenden Aufschwung und Neubau vorbereitet. Um der wachsenden Stadt Komfort und Luxus zu ermöglichen, welchen er sich niemals würde leisten können, muss der junge Mann täglich Schwerstarbeit leisten. Doch das stört ihn noch nicht einmal - der Lärm seines Presslufthammers verdrängt jeden kritischen Gedanken und die Müdigkeit lässt keinen Platz für Rebellionsgeist. Das ändert sich jedoch schlagartig, als er eines Tages bei Graben auf der alten Plaza ein Tagebuch findet. Verpackt in einem Plastikkanister hat das kleine Büchlein mit den innersten Gedanken und dem Schicksal von Pelly D den Krieg überstanden und findet jetzt den Weg zu Toni V. Wo Toni V am Anfang noch über die luxuriöse Lebensweise des jungen Mädchens staunt, verändert sich ihre Situation durch das Aufkommen von Gen-Tests und anderen fanatischen Ideen jedoch langsam und ihre Geschichte wird ein reißender Abwärtsstrudel, angetrieben von Rassismus, Fanatismus und der Suche nach einem Sündenbock...
"Das ist genau der Punkt, Pelly, sagte er. Es geht nicht um Wasser. Es ging nie darum. Sie werden uns nirgendwo hinbringen. Sie werden...
-"Hör auf!"
Sehr bald nach Beginn der Geschichte stellte sich bei mir Ernüchterung ein. Vor allem der flapsige Tagebuchstil, welcher bald über drei Viertel der Handlung dominiert und in erster Linie die vielen &-Zeichen, die das dafürstehende Wort vollkommen ersetzen, raubten mir den letzten Nerv. Auch scheint Pelly Ds Geschichte kein besonders spannendes Buch zu füllen vermögen. Sie lebt ein sorgenfreies Dasein mit mehr Geld als sie jemals an sehen kann und hohem Ansehen als "Queen Bee" ihrer Schule. Sie braucht sich über nichts Gedanken machen - außer vielleicht darüber, ob ihre neuste Markenmode vielleicht schon wieder out ist - und lässt sich auch gerne auf Sticheleien gegen weniger bemittelte Mitschülern, wie zum Beispiel Marek T ein. Kurzum: sie ist ein naives, nerviges, verwöhntes, eingebildetes und oberflächliches Miststück. Obwohl die Handlung eigentlich in seiner Zeit spielt, liegt der Fokus eindeutig auf Pelly und er ist nur eine Art blasse Randfigur. Indem sich die Handlung vor allem auf ihn konzentriert und seine Lebensumstände unklar bleiben, wird sehr viel Potential verschenkt.
Der Tagebuchstil hat aber auch eine positive Seite: dadurch, dass wir durch die Tagebuchform nur sehr bruchstückhaft aus ihrem Leben erfahren, bleibt die Entwicklung der politischen Lage spannend und undurchsichtig. Wir wissen nur das, was Pelly weiß oder was durch Tonis Alltag offensichtlich ist. So ist von Anfang an klar, dass es einen Krieg geben muss. Warum und wer gegen wen kämpft, bleibt jedoch erstmal unklar.
"Ich bin FEST ENTSCHLOSSEN. Ich werde es NICHT zulassen, dass diese dämliche Politik mir meinen Tag versaut. Ich werde allen zeigen, was wahre KLASSE ist. Die Atsumisi können mich mal! Ihre hämischen Blicke sind mir so was von egal. Schreite den Schulkorridor entlang, als gehöre er dir alleine, Pelly D! Blick nach vorn in die Zukunft, Pelly D!"
Wenn die Geschichte zuvor noch spielerisch aus Pellys Leben erzählt hat, ändert das sich erst schleichend und dann immer drastischer als neue Gesetze vorschreiben, dass jeder Bürger bei einem Gentest seine Genkategorie erkennen lässt und sich je nach Güte ein andersfarbiges Tattoo auf die Hand stechen lässt. Rot für die privilegierten Atsumisi, Träger des geheimnisvollen Epi-Gens, von dem keiner so wirklich weiß, was es bewirken soll. Silber für die Mazzini, die dieses Gen zwar in sich tragen, es jedoch nicht ausgeprägt ist. Und Grün für die unterste Klasse, die Galrezi, denen auch Pellys Familie angehört. Als Pelly mit einem grünen Tattoo durch ihren Alltag läuft ist es, als sei sie stigmatisiert. Auch wenn sich alle einreden, dass der Genstatus egal ist, beginnt sie ihre Vormachtstellung in ihrer Clique zu verlieren und sieht sich auch so immer weiter abstürzen. So lange es geht, versucht sie ihre Not zu leugnen und ihr mit schicken Outfits und beißender Ironie zu begegnen, als sie jedoch gezwungen wird, ihr Zuhause zu verlassen und in ein kleines Appartement am anderen Ende des Plazas zu ziehen und auch weitere Sanktionen gegen Galrezis angekündigt werden, muss sie sich eingestehen, dass ein Krieg beginnt. Nicht nur die Bomben, die die Stadt immer wieder erschüttern, können ein Lied davon erzählen, auch das Verschwinden der Obdachlosen Moma Peg, welche Pellys langjährige Freundin war, spricht Bände. Und schließlich geht Pelly auch auf, was mit den Galrezis passiert, die angeblich nach City 1 beordert werden: auf dem Weg in eine strahlende Zukunft ist für sie kein Platz, weshalb sie entsorgt werden...
"Es liegen immer noch einzelne Schuhe auf der Plaza, neben zerfetzten Spruchbändern und Plakaten, die niemand mehr in die höhe halten wird. Es war wie eine Szene aus einem Film über unsere Vergangenheit auf unserer Erde. Bisher dachte ich, die Menschen seien gerade deshalb Lichtjahre bis zu Home for Home gereist, weil sie einem solchen Albtraum entfliehen wollten."
Als Pellys Tagebuch schließlich zu Ende geht, muss sich Toni V eingestehen, dass alles, woran er geglaubt hat Lügen sind und er eigentlich nichts weiß. Die Notiz "Grabt, grabt überall" weißt auf viele andere Schicksale hin, die nur noch auf Postkarten, Fotografien oder Tagebüchern existieren. Geschichten von ermordeten Familien, von einer ganzen ausgelöschten Rasse machen Toni klar, dass er auf einem Friedhof arbeitet....
An dieser Stelle, die leider erst ganz am Ende der Geschichte eintritt, beginnt sich dann endlich das wahre Potential der Story zu zeigen. Wenn es zuvor noch um Diskriminierung und Rassismus geht, wird nun klar, wie schnell es von einer scheinbar normalen Gesellschaft zu einem kompletten Unrechtssystem ist, welches mit faschistischen Mitteln eine hilflose Minderheit missachtet, ausgrenzt und schließlich sogar zu vernichten beginnt. Die Autorin zeigt hier sehr gewagt viele Parallelen zum Dritten Reich, dem 2. Weltkrieg und dem Holocaust auf und erinnert mit dem Tagebuch an die Geschichte der Anne Frank. Angepasst an dieses Science-Fiction-Universum ergibt sich daraus eine Gänsehaut-verursachende Geschichte, deren schockierende Wahrheit über den Plot hinausgeht.
"Das geht nicht", sagte ich. "Es ist mein Leben!" Er wandte sich um und sah mich seltsam an. "Das stimmt nicht. Es ist nur geliehen. Eines Tages musst du es zurückgeben."
"Das ist ja lächerlich. Das ist unser Zuhause. Hier leben wir."
"Du weißt wie es läuft, Pelly D. Jetzt wollen andere das gute Leben für sich."
"Glaubst du es wird so weitergehen? Die Atsumisi machen die Gesetze und wir müssen gehorchen?" Big Bro sah mir direkt in die Augen. Er weinte - zwei Tränen schimmerten auf seinem Gesicht. "Nein, Pelly D", sagte er. "Es wird nicht so weitergehen. Es wird noch viel schlimmer."
Angesichts der Tatsache, dass die Autorin nach bescheidenem Beginn noch so viel Tiefe und Tragik aus der Geschichte herausholen konnte, hätte ich mir für die 200 Seiten gerne noch ein wenig mehr Ausschmückungen und Details gewünscht, mehr über die Hintergründe der Science-Fiction-Welt und über andere Schicksale aus anderen Bevölkerungsschichten erfahren. Durch das Tagebuch haben wir eine sehr einseitige, wenn auch eindrückliche Sicht auf das Geschehende, das mahnend den Zeigefinger hebt und daran erinnert, dass alles immer wieder passieren kann - selbst wenn die Menschheit sich auf einem neuen Planeten eine eigentlich ideale Version des Lebens aufgebaut zu haben scheint. Man darf nie damit aufhören, alles zu hinterfragen. Wenn das genügend Leute tun und dann die Stimme erheben, würde es zu solchen wie in diesem Buch beschriebenen Fällen nicht kommen.
"Egal was passiert, wir werden zusammenbleiben.
Diese Gewissheit macht mir das Herz leichter.
Ich hielt seine Hand. Ganz fest.
"Wohin werden sie uns bringen?", fragte ich.
Er küsste meine Augen
"Werden wir zurückkommen?"
Er küsste meinen Mund."
Fazit:
Eine Gänsehaut-verursachende Idee: ein Anne-Frank-Szenario im Science-Fiction-Universum! Ein wenig wackelig in der Umsetzung aber dennoch lesenswert!
July 13, 2015
Schwierig.
Die Story mal kurz in ein paar simplen Sätzen:
Wir haben unsere Erde zugrunde gerichtet - vllt war auch die Natur/Sonne/etc; ist nicht ganz klar - und die Menschheit siedelt einen neuen Planeten an, mit dem wohlklingenden Namen "Home for Home". Allerdings nicht viele Menschen wie es scheint, weil die Bevölkerung in Reagenzgläsern gezüchtet wird. Verteilt auf 5 Cities, die Einfachheitshalber von 1 bis 5 durchnummeriert sind. Bei dieser Menschenzucht gibt es ein Gen, welches einige Menschen haben, andere nur inaktiv und wieder andere gar nicht. Daraus entwickelt sich schleichend eine gewisse "Rassen/Klassentrennung" und schlussendlich ein Krieg.
Pelly D ist ein junges, beliebtes Mädchen aus reichem Hause, welches Tagebuch schreibt und damit unbewusst die Geschehnisse hin zum Krieg dokumentiert. Toni V gehört zu den Menschen, die nach dem Krieg die Aufräumarbeiten erledigen müssen, Tag ein Tag aus. Im Schutt findet er irgendwann Pelly D's Tagebuch und liest es. Der Leser erfährt dadurch, wie es zum Krieg kam.
// evtl Spoiler - würde euch das Buch aber nicht empfehlen, also lest hier ruhig weiter //
Und das ist eigentlich auch schon alles. Man könnte erwarten, das Toni V und Pelly D sich irgendwann begegnen und unsterblich ineinander verlieben, aber dem ist nicht so. Das Tagebuch ist einfach zu Ende. Und Toni V geht wieder seiner Arbeit nach.
Es wird nichts wirklich erklärt zur Geschichte oder der seltsamen menschlichen Biologie (Kiemen). Es ist tatsächlich als würde man das Tagebuch eines fremden Menschen lesen. Man wird in sein Leben geschmissen und bekommt eigentlich nichts wirklich mit. Dementsprechend sind die Figuren im Buch auch eher grob und mir persönlich nicht sympatisch.
Zwei Punkte gibt's für die Idee und der Tatsache, dass das Buch kein Happy End hat. Ernsthaft. Es müsste viel mehr Bücher geben die einfach aufhören, wenn es nicht am schönsten ist. So ist das halt mit dem Leben. Gibt nicht immer Käsekuchen und Ponys.
Die Story mal kurz in ein paar simplen Sätzen:
Wir haben unsere Erde zugrunde gerichtet - vllt war auch die Natur/Sonne/etc; ist nicht ganz klar - und die Menschheit siedelt einen neuen Planeten an, mit dem wohlklingenden Namen "Home for Home". Allerdings nicht viele Menschen wie es scheint, weil die Bevölkerung in Reagenzgläsern gezüchtet wird. Verteilt auf 5 Cities, die Einfachheitshalber von 1 bis 5 durchnummeriert sind. Bei dieser Menschenzucht gibt es ein Gen, welches einige Menschen haben, andere nur inaktiv und wieder andere gar nicht. Daraus entwickelt sich schleichend eine gewisse "Rassen/Klassentrennung" und schlussendlich ein Krieg.
Pelly D ist ein junges, beliebtes Mädchen aus reichem Hause, welches Tagebuch schreibt und damit unbewusst die Geschehnisse hin zum Krieg dokumentiert. Toni V gehört zu den Menschen, die nach dem Krieg die Aufräumarbeiten erledigen müssen, Tag ein Tag aus. Im Schutt findet er irgendwann Pelly D's Tagebuch und liest es. Der Leser erfährt dadurch, wie es zum Krieg kam.
// evtl Spoiler - würde euch das Buch aber nicht empfehlen, also lest hier ruhig weiter //
Und das ist eigentlich auch schon alles. Man könnte erwarten, das Toni V und Pelly D sich irgendwann begegnen und unsterblich ineinander verlieben, aber dem ist nicht so. Das Tagebuch ist einfach zu Ende. Und Toni V geht wieder seiner Arbeit nach.
Es wird nichts wirklich erklärt zur Geschichte oder der seltsamen menschlichen Biologie (Kiemen). Es ist tatsächlich als würde man das Tagebuch eines fremden Menschen lesen. Man wird in sein Leben geschmissen und bekommt eigentlich nichts wirklich mit. Dementsprechend sind die Figuren im Buch auch eher grob und mir persönlich nicht sympatisch.
Zwei Punkte gibt's für die Idee und der Tatsache, dass das Buch kein Happy End hat. Ernsthaft. Es müsste viel mehr Bücher geben die einfach aufhören, wenn es nicht am schönsten ist. So ist das halt mit dem Leben. Gibt nicht immer Käsekuchen und Ponys.
October 9, 2012
In some ways, I shouldn't have liked this book. The biggest being that there are crazy amounts of holes in the story that normally I wouldn't tolerate. I don't like books that make me infer what really happened, but in this case, the way the story was told, it makes sense that I don't know everything. The story goes back and forth between the thoughts of Toni V and him reading the diary of Pelly D. Because of this format, the holes should be there. Allow me to explain: Pelly D was not among those who founded this new planet. As a normal teenager, she wouldn't describe how and why that happened in her diary. As the political/war events start happening in her time, she a)is still a teenager and doesn't know/care about every little detail b) she, like many others, are being deliberately kept in the dark about what is really going on. Likewise, when Toni V finds and reads the diary, he has also been subject to propaganda about the war. The biggest flaw in the narration (which again may have been a semi-intentional hole) was that I didn't know how much time had passed between Pelly D writing the diary and Toni V finding it. A month? Year? Decade? I would have liked to know that.
I think this book sucessfully pulls off being slightly dystopic, slightly sci fi and slightly realistic.
I think this book sucessfully pulls off being slightly dystopic, slightly sci fi and slightly realistic.
September 21, 2011
L.J. Adlington is a British writer, fashion historian and fabulous all-around person who I met in 2010 at a writer's convention. I picked up a couple of her YA books afterwards, and have been delighted by the fresh and quirky style with which she takes on serious topics.
The Diary of Pelly D. takes place in humanity's far future and has two points of view, that of a popular teenage girl caught up in the early days of a brewing war, and that of a boy who finds her wartime diary at a later date and gets caught up in her world. While the theme of the book is quite grave, that of racism which segues into genocide, the bright and determined voice of Pelly D gives the book its vitality and its humor. Framing it in the boy's post-war world, where he works at manual labor to clean up from the bombing of Pelly's city, gives the story further complexity and nuance, and also gives the reader a second voice to listen to.
I have Cherry Heaven, the book's sequel, by my nightstand. Not all her books are available in the US, but these two are a great start and can introduce difficult political topics in a way that is exciting and fresh to teens.
The Diary of Pelly D. takes place in humanity's far future and has two points of view, that of a popular teenage girl caught up in the early days of a brewing war, and that of a boy who finds her wartime diary at a later date and gets caught up in her world. While the theme of the book is quite grave, that of racism which segues into genocide, the bright and determined voice of Pelly D gives the book its vitality and its humor. Framing it in the boy's post-war world, where he works at manual labor to clean up from the bombing of Pelly's city, gives the story further complexity and nuance, and also gives the reader a second voice to listen to.
I have Cherry Heaven, the book's sequel, by my nightstand. Not all her books are available in the US, but these two are a great start and can introduce difficult political topics in a way that is exciting and fresh to teens.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 18, 2012
This is a science-fiction novel about life set in the future. A man named Toni V finds a diary in the ground when working on demolishing a town's center. He starts to read it, even though it is against the rules. He learns all about the life of a girl named Pelly D. She had the perfect life, all the popular brands, and a extremely nice swimming pool. The swimming pool is important to the people of the future, because they all have gills. Pelly D talks all about her amazing life, but then it all changes. In her school they start to make people get stamps showing which of the three main families they belong to. Pelly D ends up belonging to the lowest and starts to get looked down upon by people from the other families. She eventually even is forced to move out of her house, and into a very bad house. She eventually starts to develop a relationship with a boy named Marek T, whom she did not formerly like. In the end Toni V reads about how Marek T and Pelly D run away in order to attempt the beginnings of a war and in a way being forced to be slaves to the "best" family.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 29, 2015
Cherry Heaven is the sequel. Gene-stamping, future, gills, racism. Etc. Can humans ever really escape from racism? Even if racism based on skin color or religion were erased, we'd find some other reason to hate people on sight. In this book, in the future, people are gene-stamped. They have a permanent stamp on their hand. This determines how they are treated, where they get to live, etc. As an interesting twist, it's not related to your parents (which makes no sense to me because it's supposed to be a blood/DNA classification). A family made up of different gene classifications makes for a very ugly family dynamic. The sequel to this book is called Cherry Heaven. Also, this book is the third SF-F book I've read that mentions/deals with dolphins. Obsess much? The others are the Hitchhiker series and Chasm City.
January 15, 2009
I must give credit for the extremely futuristic and creative justice the author, Adlington, gave to this book. It was ingenious. However, the novel itself lacked the ability to keep my attention. I drudged through the last couple of chapters and ended stopping on page 98 of the 282. I must admit to being curious about the ending, however, I've much too much on my plate and cannot tolerate another novel that may leave me wondering why I wasted my time reading it. Therefore, if this cannot keep my attention, I would strongly advise any teachers not to incorporate this into any kind of curriculum, unless donated by some non-profit organization.
May 16, 2019
The Diary of Pelly D by L.J. Adlington
I was doing my semi annual purchase of paper books from Amazon, so usually I have a full list of possibilities in my wish list. This time I was a bit scarce to making my numbers and knowing that at least three of the novels I was ordering were going to be epic fiction I thought I'd check a few that looked a bit light and that's how The Diary of Pelly D managed to get on my list. That and the excellent bargain Amazon let me have it for. I was a bit concerned that this was listed for ages 7-10 and that one of the main characters was 14 years of age. But I'm not one of those that subscribe to the notion that books for young adults should be avoided at all cost: by adults. Still this is more middle age and published under a children's label and at some point in my selections I was pushed over my limit and could’ve let it slide off my list. I'm certainly glad I left it there and I have to say that light reading is not what this is. This book is for all ages and is quite thought provoking and would definitely be a double treat for the target age level.
Being written in diary form the author L.J. Adlington takes some advantage in style by having the writer use strange abbreviations such as Shd Cd Wd for Should Would and Could. Fortunately for the reader it's mostly limited to those or I for one would have been a bit troubled. Another strange convention is the naming of characters like Tony V and Pelly D. There's reason for this that shows up later in the narrative. This is a tale that takes place in a fictional future world that has been founded with the notion that the planet would avoid the pitfalls of their home world (presumably our Earth) and the people lead an idyllic life in a virtual paradise.
But the story itself starts with Tony V a fourteen year old enlisted in the work group to rebuild a city after a great war (obviously a war that should never have occurred). Tony's job is to break away the rubble for clean-up and, though there are some who look for treasures in the rubble, treasure hunting is not his function. So when he finds a simple water container that should be tossed out, but weighs more than it should; his job is to either put it in the trash or turn it over to his supervisor. He instead opens it to find a diary, which he perceives as trash and should go in the dumpster; yet he instead takes it to his bunk and begins reading it.
The story that unfolds is two-fold in that at the beginning there is the impression that Pelly D is some over-privileged youth trying to skirt through life and just narrowly make the grade while having a good time. This is probably the one weakness that this narrative has especially for the age group; because nothing happens for a long time and even when it begins to happen it's all so subtle that it might be a difficult read for those raised in a culture of instant gratification with the rolling thunder of action packed story telling. This is a story of a different pace that, in the long run, though ponderous, is also thought provoking and eye opening in enough ways that I'd suggest the reader to give it time to grab their interest; because it is well worth reading.
This is a story about prejudice and racism; but it is mostly a story about how simple things that seem to be harmless, though questionable, can easily be used to turn people against each other. It also highlights the realization that even in the best planned environment there may always be undercurrents of old hazards and baggage that have made the long trip with the new pilgrims into their paradise. It's also a story of the growth of Pelly D from a self absorbed youth into someone who has had their eyes opened to full understanding that her perfect world was not so perfect and will never be the same.
The setting and some other characteristics of the characters make this science fiction though it's less of the technical science fiction and adventure and more the thought provoking type similar to H.G. Wells 1984 and Audous Huxley's Brave New World while touching close to terrors from out ot World War II.
Social Science Fiction for all ages; don't let the listing fool you. I recommend this to all ages; just don't expect it to be a light read.
J.L. Dobias
I was doing my semi annual purchase of paper books from Amazon, so usually I have a full list of possibilities in my wish list. This time I was a bit scarce to making my numbers and knowing that at least three of the novels I was ordering were going to be epic fiction I thought I'd check a few that looked a bit light and that's how The Diary of Pelly D managed to get on my list. That and the excellent bargain Amazon let me have it for. I was a bit concerned that this was listed for ages 7-10 and that one of the main characters was 14 years of age. But I'm not one of those that subscribe to the notion that books for young adults should be avoided at all cost: by adults. Still this is more middle age and published under a children's label and at some point in my selections I was pushed over my limit and could’ve let it slide off my list. I'm certainly glad I left it there and I have to say that light reading is not what this is. This book is for all ages and is quite thought provoking and would definitely be a double treat for the target age level.
Being written in diary form the author L.J. Adlington takes some advantage in style by having the writer use strange abbreviations such as Shd Cd Wd for Should Would and Could. Fortunately for the reader it's mostly limited to those or I for one would have been a bit troubled. Another strange convention is the naming of characters like Tony V and Pelly D. There's reason for this that shows up later in the narrative. This is a tale that takes place in a fictional future world that has been founded with the notion that the planet would avoid the pitfalls of their home world (presumably our Earth) and the people lead an idyllic life in a virtual paradise.
But the story itself starts with Tony V a fourteen year old enlisted in the work group to rebuild a city after a great war (obviously a war that should never have occurred). Tony's job is to break away the rubble for clean-up and, though there are some who look for treasures in the rubble, treasure hunting is not his function. So when he finds a simple water container that should be tossed out, but weighs more than it should; his job is to either put it in the trash or turn it over to his supervisor. He instead opens it to find a diary, which he perceives as trash and should go in the dumpster; yet he instead takes it to his bunk and begins reading it.
The story that unfolds is two-fold in that at the beginning there is the impression that Pelly D is some over-privileged youth trying to skirt through life and just narrowly make the grade while having a good time. This is probably the one weakness that this narrative has especially for the age group; because nothing happens for a long time and even when it begins to happen it's all so subtle that it might be a difficult read for those raised in a culture of instant gratification with the rolling thunder of action packed story telling. This is a story of a different pace that, in the long run, though ponderous, is also thought provoking and eye opening in enough ways that I'd suggest the reader to give it time to grab their interest; because it is well worth reading.
This is a story about prejudice and racism; but it is mostly a story about how simple things that seem to be harmless, though questionable, can easily be used to turn people against each other. It also highlights the realization that even in the best planned environment there may always be undercurrents of old hazards and baggage that have made the long trip with the new pilgrims into their paradise. It's also a story of the growth of Pelly D from a self absorbed youth into someone who has had their eyes opened to full understanding that her perfect world was not so perfect and will never be the same.
The setting and some other characteristics of the characters make this science fiction though it's less of the technical science fiction and adventure and more the thought provoking type similar to H.G. Wells 1984 and Audous Huxley's Brave New World while touching close to terrors from out ot World War II.
Social Science Fiction for all ages; don't let the listing fool you. I recommend this to all ages; just don't expect it to be a light read.
J.L. Dobias
July 23, 2023
There seems to have been a trend in the mid-00s for writing in Internet slang (referring to things as "going online" "electronic-mail" and "on the net") which make books like this tricky to read at times (I read every 'cd' which was meant to be 'could' as CD initially).
Mid-00s books also have an annoying habit if dragging out a storyline and then just when it gets good, it ends!! Why doesn't anything finish??
That aside, the story itself could definitely be revisited and rewritten for modern times.
Story pros:
- Pelly-D being assigned to be the Galrezi and her Dad being high up with the Atsamusi
- Pelly-D getting with Marek at the end was written really nicely. Would have loved that to happen in the middle and then they fight the system together.
- "Dig, dig, everywhere" was compelling, just a shame that's where it ended and there was no brilliant shock or a lead to something else, just hints of where they'd gone but no answers.
Story cons:
- Why is everyone referred to as their first name and then a letter but then it turns out at the end they actually do have names?
- Didn't like the construction worker connecting with the diary because he was perving after a school girl he was imaging to be a "gorgeous glamour girl".
- I didnt actually understand why different family members were given different levels e.g. Atsamusi. It created good conflict but needed a better reason why.
Anyways, this was a longer review than necessary for what is an older book, but I can see life in it. I wish I could edit it and get this rewritten as a Divergent style trilogy with a 1984 twist.
Mid-00s books also have an annoying habit if dragging out a storyline and then just when it gets good, it ends!! Why doesn't anything finish??
That aside, the story itself could definitely be revisited and rewritten for modern times.
Story pros:
- Pelly-D being assigned to be the Galrezi and her Dad being high up with the Atsamusi
- Pelly-D getting with Marek at the end was written really nicely. Would have loved that to happen in the middle and then they fight the system together.
- "Dig, dig, everywhere" was compelling, just a shame that's where it ended and there was no brilliant shock or a lead to something else, just hints of where they'd gone but no answers.
Story cons:
- Why is everyone referred to as their first name and then a letter but then it turns out at the end they actually do have names?
- Didn't like the construction worker connecting with the diary because he was perving after a school girl he was imaging to be a "gorgeous glamour girl".
- I didnt actually understand why different family members were given different levels e.g. Atsamusi. It created good conflict but needed a better reason why.
Anyways, this was a longer review than necessary for what is an older book, but I can see life in it. I wish I could edit it and get this rewritten as a Divergent style trilogy with a 1984 twist.
July 9, 2022
Toni V., worker digging at a construction site uncovers a diary written by Pelly D. He becomes obsessed with reading the book and with the girl who wrote it. Pelly D. lives a charmed life. She lives in a beautiful home, has anything she could ever want, is the most popular kid in school....everything is wonderful ...until it isn't. Things start to crumble down as the things in the world change. At first it has to do with water shortages but it quickly evolves into segregation and racism. People become classified with their stamp visible on their hand and separate into their own groups....fighting begins between the groups....things go bad for Pelly D. How she bears all the changes are written in her diary. It ends up being a history of what is happening in the world. A very different world than Toni V. sees around him now. It's a story telling Toni V. what happened before from the viewpoint of a normal girl, not from the government or any official channel but just a human being. He can't help but feel for Pelly D. as he reads.
February 13, 2019
Solid diary style tale that had me pondering the implications of the twist long after I had finished. I just wish we could have followed the reader of the diary for longer, I felt their voice was lost to Pelli D.
July 10, 2017
The story is interesting and keeps you engaged for most of the book. There is PG rated profanity and discussions about making out. I'm planning on reading the sequel.
August 14, 2018
The story was good enough but the use of shorthand really bugged me i know that a good part of this book was a diary but in my opinion it made pelly seem lazy and not very bright
September 22, 2019
That was way darker than I anticipated, and left things a little unresolved imo.
October 28, 2019
The only thing I didn't like was how instead of should it was she's or spend it was spnd. This book has a lot of that.
August 6, 2022
Hab es vor einer Zeit gelesen und honestly vergessen wie ich es fand. Ok i guess 🤪
June 18, 2014
This book had a promising plot but it just fell too short.
So, there is a construction worker named Toni V who finds a diary while drilling. And the whole book is about him reading this diary that belonged to an owner named Pelly D. In the diary, Pelly D talked about how popular she is, how rich she is and how boys want her. But fear not, she also mentioned a bit of background. Now, I want you guys to know that what I’m about to tell you could had been misinterpreted from the book (at times, it was a bit confusing so if I got something wrong, I don’t care! Haha jk, just tell me if this review had any mistakes!) Ok, you’ll soon find out that this took place in the future where some people colonized a planet and 5 districts (‘Cities’) were established. You’ll also find out that everybody on this new planet (which I think its called Home from Home – or maybe that’s the continent’s name) was artificially made. The first colonists created embryos in labs, and somehow there was genetic variation. Therefore, it created 3 different ‘gene tags’ in which everyone fell under the 3 family genes: the Atsumi, the Galrezi, and the Mazzini. Oh, and I forgot to mention, everyone has gills. Okay, so in Pelly D’s Diary, it hinted at how the society was in Home from Home. The Atsumi was at the top of the social class. They had a special gene (I don’t really know what exactly gene it is, I think it has to do with longevity, performance, intelligence) and they were not really modest when it came to having THE gene. The Mazzini had the gene but it was dormant. And the Galrezi didn’t have the gene at all.
Well, this is all very interesting (this is what you guys are thinking), the author spiced up the book with some good ole’ biology but like I said the plot fell too short. These people have gills, right. So they need water which is like backbone of the society. Now, in City 1 (which is where the first colonists arrived) there has been a drought, and the general of City 1 (his name is Isidian) is requesting aid from the other 4 Cities. During the crisis, the government decided to do a gene tag of the people in which they tested the people’s DNA and permanently marked their hands with the color associated with the family. From the diary, Toni V learns that Pelly discovered she was a Galrezi, and her life begins to take a different turn.
However, there was barely any action. I guess I personally wanted gore. I wanted to be in shock, to cry. I wanted to read about true suffering, starvation, torturing. I mean, there were rations of water (and all the talk about water was making me so thirsty) and a couple of riots. But in the end, I felt nothing. I guess it’s because Pelly D didn’t go into too much detail.
I actually like the character Pelly D than Toni V. Her personality was a bit more developed and I found her funny. Toni V’s personality was weak and I like the feeling of being attached to a character. I wasn’t attached to anyone but I think my favorite character was Marek T. He was a nerd. And I like nerds.
I gave this a 2/5. It had potential. I was expecting a whole lot more but then again, this book was meant for middle/elementary schoolers. And I’m almost 20…
So, there is a construction worker named Toni V who finds a diary while drilling. And the whole book is about him reading this diary that belonged to an owner named Pelly D. In the diary, Pelly D talked about how popular she is, how rich she is and how boys want her. But fear not, she also mentioned a bit of background. Now, I want you guys to know that what I’m about to tell you could had been misinterpreted from the book (at times, it was a bit confusing so if I got something wrong, I don’t care! Haha jk, just tell me if this review had any mistakes!) Ok, you’ll soon find out that this took place in the future where some people colonized a planet and 5 districts (‘Cities’) were established. You’ll also find out that everybody on this new planet (which I think its called Home from Home – or maybe that’s the continent’s name) was artificially made. The first colonists created embryos in labs, and somehow there was genetic variation. Therefore, it created 3 different ‘gene tags’ in which everyone fell under the 3 family genes: the Atsumi, the Galrezi, and the Mazzini. Oh, and I forgot to mention, everyone has gills. Okay, so in Pelly D’s Diary, it hinted at how the society was in Home from Home. The Atsumi was at the top of the social class. They had a special gene (I don’t really know what exactly gene it is, I think it has to do with longevity, performance, intelligence) and they were not really modest when it came to having THE gene. The Mazzini had the gene but it was dormant. And the Galrezi didn’t have the gene at all.
Well, this is all very interesting (this is what you guys are thinking), the author spiced up the book with some good ole’ biology but like I said the plot fell too short. These people have gills, right. So they need water which is like backbone of the society. Now, in City 1 (which is where the first colonists arrived) there has been a drought, and the general of City 1 (his name is Isidian) is requesting aid from the other 4 Cities. During the crisis, the government decided to do a gene tag of the people in which they tested the people’s DNA and permanently marked their hands with the color associated with the family. From the diary, Toni V learns that Pelly discovered she was a Galrezi, and her life begins to take a different turn.
However, there was barely any action. I guess I personally wanted gore. I wanted to be in shock, to cry. I wanted to read about true suffering, starvation, torturing. I mean, there were rations of water (and all the talk about water was making me so thirsty) and a couple of riots. But in the end, I felt nothing. I guess it’s because Pelly D didn’t go into too much detail.
I actually like the character Pelly D than Toni V. Her personality was a bit more developed and I found her funny. Toni V’s personality was weak and I like the feeling of being attached to a character. I wasn’t attached to anyone but I think my favorite character was Marek T. He was a nerd. And I like nerds.
I gave this a 2/5. It had potential. I was expecting a whole lot more but then again, this book was meant for middle/elementary schoolers. And I’m almost 20…
March 30, 2016
I wanted to love this book so much! the premise sounded fascinating. A diary hidden in the rubble, with the clue "dig everywhere" on the cover.
I liked Pelly D, the character in the diary. She starts off as a spoiled, self-centered rich kid, and gradually becomes somebody you could root for. The other main character, Tony V, the guy who digs up her diary, was also interesting. A teenager who has never questioned his life, authority, or his role as a demolition man. Finding the diary changes all of this for him.
So two good, well-written characters I liked. The problems I had with the book were with the plot. The diary is hidden in a plaza Toni V is excavating. It was hidden in haste (not a spoiler, that's probably obvious). So how did they hide it underneath the concrete he's excavating? The plaza is described many times, and I never noticed anybody saying it was made of dirt that could be dug up in a hurry. Also, why was "dig everywhere" written on the cover? dig for what? It's never really explained,
I liked Pelly D, the character in the diary. She starts off as a spoiled, self-centered rich kid, and gradually becomes somebody you could root for. The other main character, Tony V, the guy who digs up her diary, was also interesting. A teenager who has never questioned his life, authority, or his role as a demolition man. Finding the diary changes all of this for him.
So two good, well-written characters I liked. The problems I had with the book were with the plot. The diary is hidden in a plaza Toni V is excavating. It was hidden in haste (not a spoiler, that's probably obvious). So how did they hide it underneath the concrete he's excavating? The plaza is described many times, and I never noticed anybody saying it was made of dirt that could be dug up in a hurry. Also, why was "dig everywhere" written on the cover? dig for what? It's never really explained,
January 2, 2016
Da ich momentan im Dystopie-Fieber bin, schnappte ich mir dieses Buch. Erst später merkte ich, dass diese Dystopie schon relativ "alt" ist, immerhin schon 10 Jahre. Aber egal, los gings.
Am Anfang war ich ziemlich irritiert, denn dieses Buch lässt so ziemlich alles vermissen, was man aus Äquivalenten wie Tribute oder ähnliches kennt: Keine halb-tragische Liebesgeschichte, kein personifizierter, böser Unterdrücker. Auch die Erzählweise des Buches ist etwas gewöhnungsbedürftig:
Toni V., selbst noch relativ jung, ist zusammen mit vielen anderen mit Abrissarbeiten beschäftigt, denn auf dem fernen Planeten, wo er lebt, gab es Krieg. Nun soll City 5 wieder ausgebaut werden. Während dieser Abrissarbeiten findet er das Tagebuch von Pelly, einem Mädchen, das vor dem Krieg gelebt hat und ihre ganz persönliche Geschichte erzählt.
Am Anfang war alles ganz normal, sie war beliebt und ihre größten Probleme waren Mode oder Jungs. Aber dann werden Gentests zur Pflicht und sie und ihre Familie haben nur "minderwertige" Gene. Von da an beginnt sich alles zu ändern.
Ich will nicht spoilern, deswegen kann ich inhaltlich nicht mehr wiedergeben. Aber es ist auf jeden Fall ein Buch, das unter die Haut geht. Denn die Ähnlichkeiten mit dem Dritten Reich, teilweise aber auch mit der Anti-Flüchtlinge-Haltung, die man heute in Deutschland findet, ist verblüffend gut getroffen. Diskriminierung erfolgt aufgrund von Vorurteilen, die nicht bewiesen werden können, aber trotzdem. Auf einmal werden Familien auseinandergerissen, Menschen verschwinden spurlos, andere versuchen zu fliehen. Menschenrechte werden einfach ohne Probleme untergraben - und das nur, weil sich eine Minderheit über die andere stellt.
Toll fand ich, wie die Entwicklung dieses Prozesses dargestellt wird: Auf die Ungläubigkeit a la "Das können die doch nicht ernst meinen" folgt die Ernüchterung.
Auch das Ende des Buches regt zum Nachdenken an. Denn der Leser bekommt nicht alles auf dem Silbertablett serviert. Einiges muss man sich erschließen, vieles bleibt offen und ungeklärt.
Mich hat das Buch wirklich bewegt. Ich empfehle jedem Jugendlichen, aber auch Erwachsenen, dieses Buch zu lesen. Auch wenn die Sprache an der ein oder anderen Stelle gewöhnungsbedürftig ist und auch der Anfang des Buches mehr verwirrt als aufklärt, lohnt es sich, dran zu bleiben.
Unbedingt lesen!
Am Anfang war ich ziemlich irritiert, denn dieses Buch lässt so ziemlich alles vermissen, was man aus Äquivalenten wie Tribute oder ähnliches kennt: Keine halb-tragische Liebesgeschichte, kein personifizierter, böser Unterdrücker. Auch die Erzählweise des Buches ist etwas gewöhnungsbedürftig:
Toni V., selbst noch relativ jung, ist zusammen mit vielen anderen mit Abrissarbeiten beschäftigt, denn auf dem fernen Planeten, wo er lebt, gab es Krieg. Nun soll City 5 wieder ausgebaut werden. Während dieser Abrissarbeiten findet er das Tagebuch von Pelly, einem Mädchen, das vor dem Krieg gelebt hat und ihre ganz persönliche Geschichte erzählt.
Am Anfang war alles ganz normal, sie war beliebt und ihre größten Probleme waren Mode oder Jungs. Aber dann werden Gentests zur Pflicht und sie und ihre Familie haben nur "minderwertige" Gene. Von da an beginnt sich alles zu ändern.
Ich will nicht spoilern, deswegen kann ich inhaltlich nicht mehr wiedergeben. Aber es ist auf jeden Fall ein Buch, das unter die Haut geht. Denn die Ähnlichkeiten mit dem Dritten Reich, teilweise aber auch mit der Anti-Flüchtlinge-Haltung, die man heute in Deutschland findet, ist verblüffend gut getroffen. Diskriminierung erfolgt aufgrund von Vorurteilen, die nicht bewiesen werden können, aber trotzdem. Auf einmal werden Familien auseinandergerissen, Menschen verschwinden spurlos, andere versuchen zu fliehen. Menschenrechte werden einfach ohne Probleme untergraben - und das nur, weil sich eine Minderheit über die andere stellt.
Toll fand ich, wie die Entwicklung dieses Prozesses dargestellt wird: Auf die Ungläubigkeit a la "Das können die doch nicht ernst meinen" folgt die Ernüchterung.
Auch das Ende des Buches regt zum Nachdenken an. Denn der Leser bekommt nicht alles auf dem Silbertablett serviert. Einiges muss man sich erschließen, vieles bleibt offen und ungeklärt.
Mich hat das Buch wirklich bewegt. Ich empfehle jedem Jugendlichen, aber auch Erwachsenen, dieses Buch zu lesen. Auch wenn die Sprache an der ein oder anderen Stelle gewöhnungsbedürftig ist und auch der Anfang des Buches mehr verwirrt als aufklärt, lohnt es sich, dran zu bleiben.
Unbedingt lesen!
June 17, 2012
While breaking up the concrete of City 5’s former plaza, Tony D. discovers a diary left behind by one of the former residents – Pelly D. Pelly was an outgoing, popular girl who came from a family that was particularly well-off. She had everything. Then the cities made genetic testing mandatory and genetic profiling created an abyss between the different types – Atsumisi, Mazzini, and Galrezi. The Atsumisi set themselves up as an elite class and blamed all of their problems (drought, demonstrations, violence, etc.) on the Galrezi. When Pelly D. is tested, she is shocked to find out that she is Galrezi. Immediately, her life begins to change. Her family is forced to move to a “Galrezi-only” neighborhood and slowly people start to disappear – called away to become part of work gangs, imprisoned in hospitals, and eventually taken away against their will. Tony D. is fascinated by her story, but when he finishes it he doesn’t know what to do with the diary or the information it contains.
LJ Adlington wrote this based on her “longtime interest in war diaries.” Although it takes place on another world whose colonists (once Earthlings) have genetically modified themselves (they have gills), it is reminiscent of the Jewish Holocaust. Readers familiar with these events will probably notice the parallels. Pelly D. is rather superficial and silly, at least in the beginning, but she never approves of the genetic profiling (although, one wonders if she would feel the same way if she were Atsumisi like her father). While Pelly D.’s diary ends rather abruptly, there is some hope that she may have survived and may someday be able to return to the city. Tony D.’s response, however, is a little disappointing – I wanted something more from him. Fans of this will want to go on to read Cherry Heaven, which takes place in the same world.
LJ Adlington wrote this based on her “longtime interest in war diaries.” Although it takes place on another world whose colonists (once Earthlings) have genetically modified themselves (they have gills), it is reminiscent of the Jewish Holocaust. Readers familiar with these events will probably notice the parallels. Pelly D. is rather superficial and silly, at least in the beginning, but she never approves of the genetic profiling (although, one wonders if she would feel the same way if she were Atsumisi like her father). While Pelly D.’s diary ends rather abruptly, there is some hope that she may have survived and may someday be able to return to the city. Tony D.’s response, however, is a little disappointing – I wanted something more from him. Fans of this will want to go on to read Cherry Heaven, which takes place in the same world.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 28, 2016
I read this book when I was younger and I remember loving it. Recently, I found out there was a companion novel. Having always wanted more books in this world, I was immediately interested. I decided to reread this book first, to see if it held up to what I remembered.
Yes. Yes, it did.
This is how you write a fake apocalypse diary. (I'm looking at you, The Carbon Diaries 2015.) The language sounds enough like a teenager to set the tone, but not enough to be distracting or annoying. The character is not likable at the beginning, but her diary makes you warm up to her. You care about all the characters. They all have justifications for the things they do, so it makes sense.
Yes, this is a holocaust allegory. Actually, scratch that. This book is about a holocaust. It is done tastefully and well. Yes, it is thick and obvious enough for preteens to understand, but it's not annoying or heavy, either. This book is incredibly sad but so sad it's impossible to read. The ending is dark enough that it might surprise preteens and begin to show them that the holocaust affected real people but it also won't ruin your day or make you cry for weeks.
I would recommend it mainly for preteens beginning to learn about the holocaust, but it's appropriate for older teens as well. Rereading it, it was obvious I was no longer the target audience for this book. I could tell what tricks the author was using and that was a bit of a distraction. Still, it is a very well-written book. The plot is engaging and I was never bored. I am very glad I reread it, and I can't wait to check out the companion.
Yes. Yes, it did.
This is how you write a fake apocalypse diary. (I'm looking at you, The Carbon Diaries 2015.) The language sounds enough like a teenager to set the tone, but not enough to be distracting or annoying. The character is not likable at the beginning, but her diary makes you warm up to her. You care about all the characters. They all have justifications for the things they do, so it makes sense.
Yes, this is a holocaust allegory. Actually, scratch that. This book is about a holocaust. It is done tastefully and well. Yes, it is thick and obvious enough for preteens to understand, but it's not annoying or heavy, either. This book is incredibly sad but so sad it's impossible to read. The ending is dark enough that it might surprise preteens and begin to show them that the holocaust affected real people but it also won't ruin your day or make you cry for weeks.
I would recommend it mainly for preteens beginning to learn about the holocaust, but it's appropriate for older teens as well. Rereading it, it was obvious I was no longer the target audience for this book. I could tell what tricks the author was using and that was a bit of a distraction. Still, it is a very well-written book. The plot is engaging and I was never bored. I am very glad I reread it, and I can't wait to check out the companion.
September 7, 2009
This book is a book that has to do in two different worlds and with different characters. In the first chapter Pelly D would be writing in her diary. While in the next chapter you would be reading what a boy thinks about the diary entries. At first when I read this book, I was confused and bored at the same time because it just talked about this young boy working and swimming in the pool. But then when i realized that there were two places I was surprised.
This book is about a girl called Pelly D. She is a girl that has all that she needs. She lives in this 5 story building and has her own room, along with a flat screen T.V, king size bed, her own laptop and even had her own walk-in closet. Her family also owned a 3-D hologram pool. Although later she had to move out for a serious problem. The problem was that each person got a stamp in their hand. The stamp had 3 colors that have 3 different symbols. The colors were green= Galrezi, Blue=Monsumi and Red= Atzumi. Pelly was the most popular girl whos turn into a big loser because of her stamp. Green was the worst and that is what POelly got. Sice she got green, she had to give her house to an red person and she had to move to this ugly house. Then on the other hand their was this guy named Toni V. Toni had found Pelly's diary whille he was digging. He felt sorry for Pelly D, but the book ended where Pelly found her love while Toni still wondering about the book, he was confused.
I would rate this book a 5 star book because I could never stop reading this book.
This book is about a girl called Pelly D. She is a girl that has all that she needs. She lives in this 5 story building and has her own room, along with a flat screen T.V, king size bed, her own laptop and even had her own walk-in closet. Her family also owned a 3-D hologram pool. Although later she had to move out for a serious problem. The problem was that each person got a stamp in their hand. The stamp had 3 colors that have 3 different symbols. The colors were green= Galrezi, Blue=Monsumi and Red= Atzumi. Pelly was the most popular girl whos turn into a big loser because of her stamp. Green was the worst and that is what POelly got. Sice she got green, she had to give her house to an red person and she had to move to this ugly house. Then on the other hand their was this guy named Toni V. Toni had found Pelly's diary whille he was digging. He felt sorry for Pelly D, but the book ended where Pelly found her love while Toni still wondering about the book, he was confused.
I would rate this book a 5 star book because I could never stop reading this book.
May 1, 2009
Toni V knows that he should turn it over, that’s what the Rules and Regulations state. He doesn’t even want to think about the trouble he could get in for taking something from the Demo Site. But his curiosity gets the better of him, and he smuggles it back to his room in the block and hiding it under his pillow where no one else can see it. Reading snippets when no one else is looking.
The Diary of Pelly D.
At first, Toni V thinks Pelly D seems a bit shallow and petty (but, he decides, most likely gorgeous). She’s more concerned with her popularity, dating the hot new guy and hanging out at the new Waterworld Park than with anything else going on in City Five.
Soon though, her diary entries begin to allude to a growing unrest between the cities. People are becoming obsessed with which gene pool others belong to, after all, everyone knows the Atsumisi have the all important epigene and Galrezi don’t.
Pelly D’s world takes a drastic turn when the Atsumisi government in City One pass a law declaring everyone must be tested and gene identifying hand stamps become mandatory. As Toni V reads more, he begins to connects events of the past with the current post-war state of City Five.
Adlington has created a post apocalyptic story of a futuristic Holocaust, intentionally reminiscent of events in World War 2. She causes the reader to wonder if mankind ever really changes, or if they are doomed to repeat the same mistakes, regardless of time and place.
The Diary of Pelly D.
At first, Toni V thinks Pelly D seems a bit shallow and petty (but, he decides, most likely gorgeous). She’s more concerned with her popularity, dating the hot new guy and hanging out at the new Waterworld Park than with anything else going on in City Five.
Soon though, her diary entries begin to allude to a growing unrest between the cities. People are becoming obsessed with which gene pool others belong to, after all, everyone knows the Atsumisi have the all important epigene and Galrezi don’t.
Pelly D’s world takes a drastic turn when the Atsumisi government in City One pass a law declaring everyone must be tested and gene identifying hand stamps become mandatory. As Toni V reads more, he begins to connects events of the past with the current post-war state of City Five.
Adlington has created a post apocalyptic story of a futuristic Holocaust, intentionally reminiscent of events in World War 2. She causes the reader to wonder if mankind ever really changes, or if they are doomed to repeat the same mistakes, regardless of time and place.
July 20, 2009
I found this book while browsing at my local library. i tried reading it once, and it seemed so trivial and unimportant. i returned it and forgot about it.
a year later, i saw it again and thought "what every happened to Pelly D after she got kicked out of her holo-pool and lost her street-side friend?" so i borrowed it again and read it through in a few hours.
i got a lot more out of it the second time, i'll say that much right away.
this book has a lot of hidden messages in it, and it's not something you can really say in words, let alone out loud. so the author used this book to paint a picture of something. it's more than fiction, it's a statement. like Orwel's 1984, or Harper Lee's To Kill a Mocking Bird . it's main focus isn't Pelly D, it's actually judgment, prejudice, and politics.
but, it also has the lighthearted addition of a teenage girl who really couldn't give a rat's poo about anyone but herself.
i won't spoil it for anyone who hasn't read it, but i will recommend it. i'll also say this: the ending is good, but it doesn't wrap up the story like most books do. it's well written (aside from the missing letters, which is part of the futuristic style of speech and writing used in the book. example: "v" instead of "very" or "cd" instead of "could.") and the characters are very real.
take a step forward, go onward and upward, and plunge into a very deep book.
a year later, i saw it again and thought "what every happened to Pelly D after she got kicked out of her holo-pool and lost her street-side friend?" so i borrowed it again and read it through in a few hours.
i got a lot more out of it the second time, i'll say that much right away.
this book has a lot of hidden messages in it, and it's not something you can really say in words, let alone out loud. so the author used this book to paint a picture of something. it's more than fiction, it's a statement. like Orwel's 1984, or Harper Lee's To Kill a Mocking Bird . it's main focus isn't Pelly D, it's actually judgment, prejudice, and politics.
but, it also has the lighthearted addition of a teenage girl who really couldn't give a rat's poo about anyone but herself.
i won't spoil it for anyone who hasn't read it, but i will recommend it. i'll also say this: the ending is good, but it doesn't wrap up the story like most books do. it's well written (aside from the missing letters, which is part of the futuristic style of speech and writing used in the book. example: "v" instead of "very" or "cd" instead of "could.") and the characters are very real.
take a step forward, go onward and upward, and plunge into a very deep book.
January 4, 2012
As L.J. Adlington's author biography states, her first novel, The Diary of Pelly D, is based on her long time interest in war diaries. The novel is told from the point of view of Tony V, a teenager working on the Citry Five demolition screw. During his work, he discovers the pure fluff of the diary of Pelly D, buried in the old city plaza. The people have already left Earth, and have moved on to a different planet. Technology has increased in remarkable ways, and we have fabricated gills. Pelly D lives a very fortunate life and has everything that she has ever wanted. But she stumbles on an awful secret and those nightmares become a reality.
Even though she has no idea, Pelly D has written the best war diary, which provides Tony V a passage into a historical conflict which was largely covered up by the government. Pelly D is a leader of "popularity" who loses all in the order of gene outlining and tight supplies. The diary she writes is of a rich, petty girl who still manages to be loved by everyone around her, to Tony V, and the reader.
My biggest con about this book is the prolonged description paragraphs. Adlington spends a very long time explaining the world of scientific and political terms that are new to the reader and incomparable. Anytime I bring this book up to people they say that they stop reading the book because of the description, but the truth is that the journey is well worth it once the story picks up in the second half.
Even though she has no idea, Pelly D has written the best war diary, which provides Tony V a passage into a historical conflict which was largely covered up by the government. Pelly D is a leader of "popularity" who loses all in the order of gene outlining and tight supplies. The diary she writes is of a rich, petty girl who still manages to be loved by everyone around her, to Tony V, and the reader.
My biggest con about this book is the prolonged description paragraphs. Adlington spends a very long time explaining the world of scientific and political terms that are new to the reader and incomparable. Anytime I bring this book up to people they say that they stop reading the book because of the description, but the truth is that the journey is well worth it once the story picks up in the second half.
February 26, 2011
In my last month of working for the Census when I needed something different to read. Megan at Posey Sessions suggested The Diary of Pelly D by L. J. Adlington. I'm glad she did.
This dystopian homage to The Diary of Anne Frank opens with Toni V. finding a diary while he's digging at a construction site. He's supposed to turn in anything he finds but decides to keep the diary. Every night after work when he's back at the flop house style dormitory, he reads from Pelly D's diary.
Pelly and Toni's stories are woven together into the tapestry that is their country's history. Instead of having lengthy passages of exposition or the question and answer style of world building (as used in The Maze Runner by James Dashner), Pelly D lets both characters live in their world and experience it for the good and bad.
For Pelly's part of the novel society comes unraveled as genetic markers become the basis for a new caste system. In Toni's time the damage is done but maybe just maybe there's a glimmer of hope for improvement.
I liked the open ended feel to the book. There's room for interpretation and discussion about the nature of Pelly and Toni's country. Readers who enjoy dystopian social commentary such as 1984, Lord of the Flies or Fahrenheit 451 will like The Diary of Pelly D.
This dystopian homage to The Diary of Anne Frank opens with Toni V. finding a diary while he's digging at a construction site. He's supposed to turn in anything he finds but decides to keep the diary. Every night after work when he's back at the flop house style dormitory, he reads from Pelly D's diary.
Pelly and Toni's stories are woven together into the tapestry that is their country's history. Instead of having lengthy passages of exposition or the question and answer style of world building (as used in The Maze Runner by James Dashner), Pelly D lets both characters live in their world and experience it for the good and bad.
For Pelly's part of the novel society comes unraveled as genetic markers become the basis for a new caste system. In Toni's time the damage is done but maybe just maybe there's a glimmer of hope for improvement.
I liked the open ended feel to the book. There's room for interpretation and discussion about the nature of Pelly and Toni's country. Readers who enjoy dystopian social commentary such as 1984, Lord of the Flies or Fahrenheit 451 will like The Diary of Pelly D.
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