Tag Archives: Dystopia

HappyHead

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HappyHead by Josh Silver

Book of the Week: 20 August 2023

Cover image by Shutterstock

The HappyHead Project offers young people the opportunity to find lasting happiness and success and Seb Seaton, who has been selected as one of its first intake of students, is on his way to the isolated campus to take part.

His parents are concerned about his failing grades and his mental health and although Seb is dreading having to mix with strangers and take part in possibly challenging activities, he wants to please his parents and perhaps experience a fresh start after some problems in school.

He and the other students are welcomed with a speech from the founder Dr Eileen Stone, who tells them that emotional problems amongst young people are at an all-time high and that loneliness and dysfunction are preventing them from achieving their potential. HappyHead is going to help them deal with these challenges and, at first, the disciplined routine and mindfulness sessions seem designed to achieve that. Seb is introduced to his team mates who range from the shy and reticent Ash to the ultra-competitive Eleanor. The most intriguing person he meets is the unsettling Finn with his piercing gaze, tattoos and uncooperative attitude. Seb doesn’t know what to make of him but can’t get him out of his mind.

As the days pass, Seb, who has been slightly sceptical to begin with, starts to feel more and more uneasy about many elements of the course. Finn tries to persuade him that there is a threatening purpose behind all the exercises and the almost fanatical emphasis on happiness. Should he be believed and who can Seb truly trust in this bewildering new environment?

HappyHead has been compared to The Hunger Games, and it does have the element of survival tests and ongoing tension, but includes more low-key and relatable dilemmas. Seb is a sympathetic and witty narrator who we can all root for.

A sequel called Dead Happy is due in 2024.

If you enjoy reading dystopian fiction that features sinister organisations, try The Disappeared by C.J. Harper and two books by William Sutcliffe – Concentra8 and We See Everything.

More dystopian fiction can be found on this list I created a few years ago.

Pax

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Pax by Sara Pennypacker

Book of the Week: 16 June 2019

Illustrated by Jon Klaassen

Set in the USA during an un-named war, Pax is the story of the bond between Peter and Pax, his pet fox. Peter’s mother has died and his father has to leave to carry out cable-laying for the army. His father says Pax will be safer if returned to the wild so, on their way to Peter’s grandad’s where he is to stay whilst his father is away, they leave Pax by the roadside. Once Peter gets to his grandfather’s he decides this was the wrong thing to do and runs away to find Pax. Here, the story splits into two narratives: Pax’s and Peter’s. Pax has to negotiate the unfamiliar world of the wild which, having been a tame pet, he is unsuited for. Peter is similarly alone in war-torn and evacuated country, until he fractures his foot and has to take refuge in a woodland cabin with a reclusive woman called Vola. The odds against Pax and Peter ever being reunited seem stacked against them.

This is a gripping adventure and likely to be enjoyed not just by those who love animal stories. It is about love, friendship, the getting of wisdom and finding out where you belong in life.

The Extraordinary Colours of Auden Dare

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The Extraordinary Colours of Auden Dare by Zillah Bethell

Book of the Week: 10 June 2018

Cover illustration by Matt Saunders

When steak from the vending machine costs £80,000, a bag of King Edward potatoes at £5,000 seems like a bargain. Auden and his mum are shopping in Cambridge and, as you might guess from the price list, the world is different from our own. This is a future Britain where it hardly ever rains and countries have gone to war over water. Food prices have soared and water is rationed. The immediate problem facing Auden and his mum is that they have moved across the country to Unicorn Cottage which has been left to them by his uncle, Jonah Bloom. Auden’s mum says the cottage is untidy because Jonah was an eccentric inventor who had no time for tidiness, but Auden thinks someone has broken in and has been looking for something. When he makes friends with his allocated ‘New School Buddy’, Vivi Rookmini, who lives with her mother in rooms in a Cambridge college, they find an extraordinary invention in Uncle Jonah’s shed and Auden thinks his uncle has been working on a cure for Auden’s inability to see colour. This is exciting enough for Auden, but what happens next turns out to be a lot more important and will affect the future of everyone on the planet.

I also read My Messed-Up Life by Susin Nielsen this week, about Violet who thinks the answer to her single mum’s problems would be to date George Clooney. It is a fun read but I think practically all her books have featured as Book of the Week over the years, so it only gets a mention rather than a headline.

Outwalkers

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Outwalkers by Fiona Shaw

Book of the Week: 15 April 2018

Cover illustration by Levi Pinfold

Outwalkers are the opposite of ‘bona fides’ and have four main rules:
1. No technology
2. Be outside
3. Be hidden
4. Obedience to the gang

If you are a bona fide citizen of England you live by the Coalition government’s rules. Everyone has a chip implanted at birth and the country is a police state with ‘hubbers’ enforcing the law. Food banks are common, there is a wall between England and Scotland and travel is for a small number of the rich and government officials. Jake is an orphan, therefore his fate was to be educated in an academy, a place run more like a prison than a school. He manages to escape because he is worried about his beloved dog, Jet, who is being cared for by neighbours. Whilst on the run he teams up unwillingly with a gang of outwalkers: Poacher, Swift, Martha, Cass, Davie and Ollie and they set out to walk to Scotland and freedom.

The plot is packed with incident and there are some extremely tense set pieces, mostly involving climbing.  Alongside the tension and excitement is the story of Jake’s grief, longing for home and his parents, and love for his faithful dog.

If you enjoyed The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness this is definitely a book to try.

 

The Warwickshire Book Award 2018

The final week of last term saw us attend the Warwickshire Book Award. There were some excellent books on the shortlist: The Hypnotist by Laurence Anholt, Where the World Ends by Geraldine McCaughrean, Lie Kill Walk Away by Matt Dickinson, A Dangerous Crossing by Jane Mitchell, 928 Miles From Home by Kim Slater and The Haunting of Jessop Rise by Danny Weston.

These are all available to borrow from the Library.

The winning author was Matt Dickinson with Lie Kill Walk Away which was Book of the Week back in February.

 

Nightfall

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Nightfall by Jake Halpern and Peter Kujawinski

Book of the Week: 11 June 2017

Thanks to Jyan, who is a Student Library Assistant, for choosing this week’s book. He recommends Nightfall for its unique take on a dystopian story and thinks it would be enjoyed by readers in Years 7, 8 or 9. Here is his review:

Marin and Kana find their island’s rituals confusing; locks must be taken off doors and tables must be set as if they are going to eat a final meal. They do not know the reason for all this and nobody will tell them the truth. When looking for their friend Line, Marin, Kana, and Line are left alone to survive the bleak, twenty-eight years of darkness. They have missed the boats which will carry them to safety, and now they must survive. But can they really do it? They have secrets, yet they might not be willing to sacrifice their friendship for the truth. They rely on Kana as he is able to see in the dark, but Line and Marin have to rely completely on their other senses and dim candles. The candles are running out. Their friendship is very tense. The island is turning to ice. How long will they last? Will their friendship and trust die before they do?

Jake Halpern’s website is here and here is a link to his co-author, Peter Kujawinski, on the Penguin website.

Children of Icarus

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Children of Icarus by Caighlan Smith

Book of the Week: 19 March 2017

I am hoping some keen readers will provide feedback on this book because I haven’t got round to reading it yet.

The publisher’s website says “It’s Clara who’s desperate to enter the labyrinth and it’s Clara who’s bright, strong and fearless enough to take on any challenge. It’s no surprise when she’s chosen. But so is the girl who has always lived in her shadow. Together they enter. Within minutes, they are torn apart forever. Now the girl who has never left the city walls must fight to survive in a living nightmare, where one false turn with who to trust means a certain dead end.”

As reviewer Jill Murphy says on The Book Bag review site: “On a superficial level, Children of Icarus is a mash-up of The Hunger Games and The Maze Runner …” yet it has ‘refreshing’ differences and tells a dystopian story in an original way.

The Disappeared

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The Disappeared by C.J. Harper

Book of the Week: 26 April 2015

The Disappeared

The Disappeared is a dystopian adventure with plenty of action and suspense. Jackson is a high-achiever, destined for life as a member of the elite, when his fortunes change. All official records confirming his identity are mysteriously wiped out and he is imprisoned in an academy. This is his first introduction to the classroom:

“Because the seats are sunk into the floor I have a clear view of where there is a space in the grid. There’s only one gap, on the far side of the room. I make my way carefully between the metal walls till I reach the vacant compartment. I struggle with the catch to open the tiny door and sit in the sunken seat. I look up at the teacher. Her cage is mounted to the wall and made of metal; the gaps between the bars are so narrow that I can only make her out in long thin sections.”

In these metal compartments students are controlled by electric shock treatments if they disobey the Enforcers (teachers) or Impeccables (a brutal type of prefect). Jackson has to try and survive in this violent and segregated world where his fellow students are deprived of food and even of language. One of the most memorable aspects of the book is how students have barely any vocabulary and find it almost impossible to imagine any other way of life. However, as Jackson finds out, this doesn’t mean they are stupid,and when he gets to know some of his fellow students, Kay and Ilex, hope starts to grow that their situation might be capable of change. If only they can escape.

If you enjoy fast-moving plots and futuristic adventures such as The Hunger Games, then try The Disappeared. There is a sequel called The Wilderness already in stock in the Library.