The Declaration

I really enjoyed this book- it is reminiscent of Dickens and 1984. The author gives you a true feel of the horror Anna- a surplus- is forced to endure as a child unlawfully born in a world of non-aging adults. Having a child is considered a drain on resources and considered illegal unless the parents are willing to give up the pills that provide immortality. Even giving up the pills does not always guarantee the bureaucracy of the government is not going to take children unlawfully. The children are sent to Grange Hall, a sort of prison/orphanage, run by a ruthless matron. The plot is a the usual dystopian plot- the main character must escape the wretched life forced upon them. Some of the book is predictable, but I have to say the ending has some nice twists I did not see coming. My biggest complaint was the lack of closure for some of the characters. Once I was done reading I had a sort of "hmm." moment. The author failed to explain what happened to the characters and sort of left the horror of the Declaration intact, with no overall change to the oppressive regime. ***UPDATE My biggest complaint was the lack of closure, but then I found out a second book was coming out so that should take care of closure issue.

Children are NOT the future in Gemma Malley's futuristic YA, THE DECLARATION. It's 2140, and Anna has been raised in Grange Hall as a Surplus - she wasn't legally allowed to be born. If she's to have any future at all, it's to serve as a housekeeper. Indeed, Anna's a Valuable Asset, though Surpluses aren't supposed to have self-worth. But Peter has arrived at Grange Hall from the Outside. He claims to know Anna's parents, and that they want her back. Then why has she lived here for as long as she can remember? She's content to be Useful, but as Peter shares his experience of life Outside, Anna yearns for more. But neither is to be released anytime soon, and the House Matron is plotting Peter's demise. Mostly the novel doesn't feel like it's set in the future. Technology (minus medical stuff) is much how it is today, so really all that's different are the political/social aspects. But these form the story's themes, and it's no surprise that the author has a degree in philosophy and has been a journalist. Though most characters are annoying, the real drawing card is the concept and its exploration. Dark, dour and definitely believable, THE DECLARATION is an intelligent and thought-provoking read for those not afraid to take a good hard look at society - both now AND in the future.

As a young adult reading this book, I thought the situation was an amazingly realistic possibility of the future. The advanced technology of the future has always been one of my favorite subjects because of the creativity that can go into forming one's vision of the future. Though in The Declaration, the future isn't as pleasant as you would think, it emphasizes the fact that there are always going to be problems in your life no matter what you do. Even with so many solutions to modern problems (cancer, AIDS, aging ect.) there are still things you can't escape. Throughout the book, the selfishness of people who put themselves before others was slightly disturbing, but also a mind-opener. The ranking in society is also a problem that hasn't gone away throughout time. Anna is one of the rejected youth who have been shoved aside by those before her, but she still find her place, even after shes been taught the same thing for years - shes useless and doesn't deserve to live, and because of her existence, the world is a worse place. Peter is one of the only sane people left who haven't been overcome by their own selfishness or brainwashed into thinking they're "useless scum". Because of Peter, Anna is able to release herself from her own mental prison that has been to strong for her to overcome by herself. This book was a very interested and insightful book, and I would recommend it to any young adult reader.

What if there was a drug that allowed you to be immortal? Would you take it, even if it meant you would not be allowed to have children? Would you opt out, even if that put you in the tiny minority? How would society deal? How would they treat those children who are still born to parents that are immortal? How would a society of adults over the age of 40 react to youngsters? How would they justify living forever? Surplus Anna lives in the Surplus Hall, the "home" for those that Mother Nature doesn't want. Those children who are born outside of The Declaration. Created by selfish Legal parents, who are now in prison for their crimes. But Anna is a Valuable Asset and therefore might make something of herself someday, as a good servant in a good household. That is, until Peter enters her life and challenges everything that she has known to be true. He tells her that her parents really did love her and wanted her. That they sent him to find her. That she's not unwanted and that they aren't the surplus population, that instead it is the adults who have outlived their welcome on the planet. The Declaration was a stunning book that I just couldn't put down. I was never quite sure how it was going to end, yet when I got to the ending, it was exactly how it should have been. I enjoy societal challenges and questions, so I found this book to be a great exercise in what ifs. How would a society truly react to immortality? It would be tough, there would have to be population control and energy control, and I thought Malley did a great job of bringing up and answering these questions. I was left with some questions by the end of the book. I wasn't quite sure how long people had been able to be immortal for and why they had to make the decision at the age of 16. Part of the problem, of course, is that the narrating character isn't privy to this knowledge and it didn't really bother me as I read. Malley did address why they didn't just put in birth control drugs with the longevity drug, but I also wondered why they didn't sterilize people who signed The Declaration. My personal theory is that, while they may call these children Surpluses, they also need them for the slave labor they provide. When people live forever, doing menial tasks becomes even less appealing. Overall, this book is a great discussion starter, the kind of book that you might be forced to read for school, but actually enjoy. If I had kids I would probably put this on their required reading list, just because it challenges you to think about life in a new way. The question of immortality is a hard question. I really want to have kids one day, I love working with kids and enjoy the challenge of shaping young minds. Still, the idea of death terrifies me, and I think if I could still have one child, this would be an easy decision. But to never have a child and instead live forever? That's not a question I can come up with an easy answer to. And in the book, it's a question that people ar

C.S. Lewis, author of The Chronicles of Narnia Boxed Set, once wrote that there are three ways of writing for children. The first is to cater to what children want (but people seldom know what they want and this usually ends badly), the second develops from a story told to a specific child (Lewis Carrol's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass (Signet Classics), for instance), and the third is that it is simply the best art form to convey the story. Gemma Malley's debut young adult novel, THE DECLARATION, is of the last category. I am making this point because while THE DECLARATION involves two teenagers, fourteen-year-old Anna and fifteen-year-old Peter, it never feels aimed towards the teen audience Therefore it is categorized as a young adult novel by the age of its narrators rather than its content and this, I believe, will give it an enduring quality. C. S. Lewis wrote, "Where the children's story is simply the right form for what the author has to say, then of course readers who want to hear that will read the story or reread it at any age." THE DECLARATION opens in the year 2140, and people have conquered death in the form of Longevity drugs. With limited food and fuel resources, waste has become a serious crime and the worst crime of all is having a child. Anna is one of these children. She is housed at Grange Hall where she and other Surpluses are taught that the most they can ever hope for is a harsh life of servitude to make amends for their existence. Anna is well on her way to becoming a Valuable Asset when Peter arrives at Grange Hall. He challenges everything she has learned by arguing that people who take Longevity are the real criminals and perversions of nature, not the young. He also claims that he knows her parents and that they want her back. Peter is strange and new, but is he enough to make her risk everything to escape with him? Unlike some novels that use characters, plot, and setting as a vehicle to drive home a message, Gemma Malley never lets the moral and ethical questions she raises detract from the actual story. The characters are well drawn and identifiable, and the language is simple and unpretentious. THE DECLARATION is not without flaws, especially the failure to explain or integrate Mrs. Pincent's involvement with the black market product Longevity+ into a major plotline, but this lends mystery and excitement for a sequel. Even though it contains a handful of science fiction and young adult hallmarks, such as a utopia/dystopia setting, wonder drugs, and finding and defining oneself, it cannot be dismissed as merely a youthful 1984 knockoff. It is mostly a book about people, fear, and loss. Themes that are, if not always, exquisitely accessible in this age. Five Stars and a Gold Award. Reviewed by: Natalie Tsang