For Darkness Shows the Stars

May 7, 2012
Dystopian, ideological, rebellious—Peterfreund’s fantasy homage to Austen’s Persuasion departs from the original in many respects, and with great success. Elliot North is a strong and creative woman, holding together the estate her father neglects and conducting secret
agricultural experiments that defy “the protocols,” which were established after genetic tinkering nearly destroyed humanity. Antitechnology “Luddites” took sanctuary underground, emerging as overlords of the mentally diminished above-ground survivors. Those survivors, the “Reduced,” are now having normal children, and the Luddites’ status is no longer unquestioned. Four years earlier, Elliot refused to elope with Kai, a mechanical prodigy and descendant of the Reduced. Now he’s back as Capt. Malakai Wentforth, flirting with Elliot’s pretty neighbor and being savage to Elliott. Resemblance to Austen’s story lies largely in the superficialities of the plot—Peterfreund (Rampant) invokes less of Austen’s subtlety or social critique, and she really doesn’t need to. The story stands on its own, a richly envisioned portrait of a society in flux, a steely yet vulnerable heroine, and a young man who does some growing up. Ages 13–up. Agent: Deidre Knight, the Knight Agency.

June 1, 2012

Gr 7 Up-Told partially through secret letters between forbidden childhood friends, this novel is a postapocalyptic retelling of Jane Austen's Persuasion that will be a hit with fans of sci-fi romances such as Nancy Farmer's The House of the Scorpion (S & S, 2002) and Catherine Fisher's Incarceron (Dial, 2010). Four years earlier, 18-year-old Elliot North, a member of the Luddite ruling class, refused to run away with Kai, one of her family's servants and her first love. In the years since his departure, Elliot has become responsible for her family's struggling estate and taking care of the Reduced, laborers who are treated as underclass servants. Technology has been forbidden since the Wars of the Lost, a fight Luddites think was the result of humans trying to improve on nature, and Elliot's options for advancing the estate are limited. When a fleet of former servants offers to rent the family's shipyards, Elliot knows that she cannot afford to refuse their money. She's excited to discover that Kai is one of the captains, but soon learns that he is not the boy she remembers, and, like Elliot, he has plenty of secrets. Epistolary sections help readers connect with Kai and Elliot and bridge the gap between the past and present. Peterfreund takes her time developing characters and the political and social realities of a stratified society. The plot, nonetheless, moves along at a steady clip. Readers will keep turning the pages right up to the end.-Leigh Collazo, Ed Willkie Middle School, Fort Worth, TX

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