Plot Summary: It's 2035 and 16 year Will and his twin brother Berk represent everything that's good about the Dominion. As the sons of the Supreme Compassionate Director, Hayli, they are slated to take over the rule of the Dominion, and it's now time for Will and Berk to take a tour of the Dominion and truly prepare to lead. Lenora, a girl from a colony outside of the capital, travels along with Will, to show him where she came from. Lenora has an unnerving habit of not agreeing with Will and she has opinions on things Will's never considered before. While touring the colonies, Will sees real life, outside of the controlled realities the sim gives residents of the capital, tastes real food and sees real life trees. Just as Will is gaining a new understanding of what life is and what life could be, he and his brother both develop illnesses - something that's not supposed to happen in this genetically engineered future. The illness leads to a few new hard to answer questions. Is it possible that everything isn't perfect in the Dominion? Is it possible that Will's not who he thinks he is?
Critical Evaluation: Another excellent entry into the dystopian genre by experienced novelist Sonia Levitin. The close proximity of timeline of this novel give it a chilling edge as you can't help thinking that it could be just around the corner. The world of the Dominion is a radically controlled one, where people even pick the qualities they want in their children, and procreation takes place in a lab, without the messy details of traditional breeding. Leivitin has checked every box when it comes to creating a creative, new and different world that will transport readers to the world she writes about. Will and Lenora share an interesting bond that takes flight before our eyes and brings us to care about them deeply as characters, even while we're shown that caring is weakness in this world. The twists and turns feel somewhat predictable at times, but the final reveal was a definite shock. Teen readers will be hooked.
Reader's Annotation: Will has got it made - he's the son of the Supreme Compassionate Director of the Dominion and he and his brother are slated to take over one day. Why does something feel wrong about it all?
About the Author: Sonia Levitin was born to a Jewish family in Berlin, Germany in 1934. Her family moved to Brazil to escape the growing power of the Nazi party in 1935 but they were unable to make a living there and returned to Germany after a year. In 1938, Levitin's mother convinced her father to move to America and send for them later. Eventually, Levitin's entire family made it to America and her journey was the basis for her first novels.
Now, many years later, Levitin has written some 40 books for young adults and adults in a variety of genres. She lives in Southern California with her husband and teaches the occasional college level course. She has two grown children.
Information retreived from http://www.sonialevitin.com/
Genre: Science Fiction, Dystopian
Curriculum Ties: N/A
Booktalking Ideas: Can we ever design the perfect world? How does the Supreme Compassionate Director compare to dictators of the past
Reading Level: 11+
Interest Age: 14+
Challenge Issues: N/A
Why is This Included: An interesting dystopian science fiction page turner.
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