The Middler. Kirsty Applebaum. 2019/2020. 272 pages. [Source: Library]
First sentence: I took my summer diary out of my drawer. Nearly all the sheets of paper matched.
Premise/plot: Love middle grade dystopias? The Middler may be a great match for you. Narrated by a middle child, a middler, named Maggie (though her teachers never bother getting her name right), the community of Fennis Wick is getting ready to send several of its eldest (first born sons and daughters) to "camp" to prepare them to fight the Quiet War. Eldest children are practically guaranteed everything...until they turn fourteen. As Maggie's brother, Jed, spends his last week at home, Maggie has a lot of time on her hands to THINK about everything. (Questions like why does no one ever return from the Quiet War? Who are we fighting?)
The book covers a quick span of time--just ten days--but a lot can happen to a person, a family, a community in just ten days. Maggie, for example, stumbles upon a WANDERER one of the dreaded wanderers that they've been warned against a million times. But though Maggie has every reason to not trust Una Opal (the wanderer), she can't help liking her more and more with each forbidden visit...
My thoughts: I definitely liked this one. I found it a quick and satisfying read. I absolutely love the cover of this one. I'm not sure I'd put it in my 'must reread' list like The Giver and City of Ember. But I do like the world-building and the characters. I wouldn't mind more books set in this world.
Quote:
Weird, isn't it, how you think there are dangerous people outside your town, but we think there are dangerous people inside it.
© 2021 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
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