SuitabookMonument 14
Emmy Laybourne
- Reading
- Because this is the second instalment, discuss whether the opening situation feels clear without relying on earlier events. Consider checking in before reading about violence, bodily danger, pregnancy and altered behaviour, then pause after particularly intense scenes.
- Themes
- Cooperation under pressure: Young characters build a refuge, work together and make sacrifices to protect weaker group members during extraordinary danger. The book presents this favourably.
- Leadership and resistance: The book addresses leadership and resistance; the detail of how it is developed remains unclear. The stated messages and role models support a reading that principled resistance is valued.
- Agency under chemical influence: Dean is exposed to a compound associated with uncontrollable rage, and an excerpt shows Astrid becoming violent after inhaling compounds. The book leaves its stance open to more than one reading.
- Worth knowing
- The intensity is substantial: children face mortal danger, armed threats, killings and captivity. There is also a pregnancy, sex between older teens while affected by an inhibiting compound, drug and alcohol use, and mild profanity.