About the book: A future without family.
Nine is the ninth female born in her batch of ten females and ten males. By design, her life in Freedom Province is without complications or consequences. However, such freedom comes with a price. The Prime Maker is determined to keep that price a secret from the new batches of citizens that are born, nurtured, and raised androgynously.
But Nine isn't like every other batcher. She harbors indecision and worries about her upcoming Remake Day—her seventeenth birthday, the age when batchers fly to the Remake facility and have the freedom to choose and what they'll be.
When Nine discovers the truth about life outside of Freedom Province, including the secret plan of the Prime Maker, she is pulled between two worlds and two lives. Her decisions will test her courage, her heart, and her beliefs. Who can she trust? Who does she love? And most importantly, who will decide to be?
My review: Wow, I'm thrilled to be able to tell you about this book that I LOVED! I first of all loved the characters, Nine and Theron are amazing. I thought that the way that the people in their world were born and raised were interesting. They didn't live in families, they lived in batches, with caregivers that changed around a lot. Then when they turn 17, they are sent away to be "remade" into what they want to be, male or female, occupation, hair color, even the color of their teeth could be chosen. But on their way to be remade, there was an accident and Nine finds herself on an island in the ocean with a family. This is obviously confusing to her, and she's unsure what to think or how to act really. What she thought her life was to be changed in an instant, and now she has no idea how to act, or who she wants to be.
This book has a plot that is crazy and will take you places that you have never been before! I loved the way that Ilima Todd clearly shows the importance of families in this book. As you are reading about the family group that finds and cares for Nine, you can clearly compare and contrast the life she had before and the way that the rebels live. You can see how the rebels care for each other and for others while the people in the Freedom Province are simply looking to repopulate with no care for individuals. I love the way that this can compare to our own society in this time when families are becoming more and more important and the world is telling us that they are actually less and less important. This is a really fun, well-written book!
This book is written for young adults, but I'd have to recommend that parents read this before and determine whether they think that some of it is suitable for their kids. There wasn't any sexual scenes in the book, but sexuality is discussed as Nine tries to determine exactly who she is and who she wants to be.
I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Purchase Link: Amazon
About the author: ILIMA TODD was born and raised on the north shore of Oahu and currently resides in the Rocky Mountains. She never wanted to be a writer even though she loves books and reading. She earned a degree in physics instead. But the characters in her head refused to be ignored, and now she spends her time writing science fiction for teens. When she is not writing, Ilima loves to spend time with her husband and four children.Labels: Ilima Todd, Shadow Mountain Publishing, Young Adult
