First Sentence: My name is Anna. My name is Anna and I shouldn't be here. I shouldn't exist. But I do.
It's 2140, a Nazi-like era where no-one dies because of Longevity drugs. Sign the Declaration, agree not to have children and you too can live forever. Refuse, and you will live as an outcast. For the children born outside the law, it only gets worse – Surplus status, lowest of low - repaying your parent's sins for having you.
Surplus Anna, six months away from being released from Grange Hall and becoming a Valuable Asset, is about to meet Peter, who tells her shocking things about the Outside and makes her start to question the rules and want to try and find a better future. They both find out secrets about themselves, each other and the world that the generations before them have created.
The amount of times I have seen this novel and wondered about it. There was always something there, making me not quite want to read it. Maybe because it's set in the future, a setting I have something against. Probably because of my love for historical books. Or it just sounded too complex. Which it is. But Gemma Malley takes you into that world and understand everything.
I really enjoyed it. It was a definite page turner and made me think about the world a little bit. I mean, think about it. I probably wouldn't be here at 15, writing this if there was Longevity drugs - or be a Surplus. It also made me think about all the problems in the world today and in the book. I worry about homework and coursework and boys and that, but what about possible 'Surpluses' now, how are they being treated? Similar to the book?
This didn't explain every foreign word used but you still got the gest of what was going on. I loved Anna and Peter's relationship. It wasn't not friendly but still not too friendly if you know what I mean. AND I realised that Anna and Peter were the main characters in Auslander, a book set in Nazi Germany which made me smile as they are pretty similar.
This book I also found out is part of a trilogy. The second one is going to be read next, The Resistance. And the last one was released last week, The Legacy. So I'm look forward to reading those :)
I would recommend this book to anyone who doesn't mind a bit of fantasy. It's such a gripping book, I promise that you'll love it from start to end which lots of twists and turns throughout...seriously. The amount of times I was like 'Oh my god!'....
Author's Website: http://www.gemmamalley.com/
