NZ Intermediate School Librarians discussion

YA alternate history/dystopian novel. Set in the city of Ursa where there are two classes of people. The privileged elite - the Travesters, and the Cerels who are considered inferior. The Director who rules over Ursa has introduced & enforced laws that mean Cerels are longer permitted to have children, most males over 18 have been sent off to "Wild Camps" (where they are used as slave labour), and the remaining Cerels in Ursa live in ghettoes and perform low paying manual labour jobs for the Travesters - if they are allowed to work at all. 15 year old Leho lives with his mother and siblings. Some years earlier his parents were caught trying to organise an uprising against the Director - Leho's father was taken away and his mother was tortured and blinded. Despite what happened to his parents, Leho is itching to join his older brother whom he discovers is involved in planning another uprising. He also strikes up an unlikely friendship with a Travester girl, Emee, and he is shocked when he realises that she oblivious to the plight of the Cerels. The book begins with Leho secretly witnessing library books being burned in the street, under the Director's orders. This is one of the many parallels throughout the book to Nazi Germany. Overall Ursa was an interesting read and certainly ticks the box if you want a book on injustice/discrimination/human rights. However it was a bit slow paced for my liking and while it seemed to be building up to a thrilling finish, it actually ended with more of a fizzle than a bang. It probably would be a better fit for a High School library than an Intermediate.