Date With a Rockstar

August 1, 2015

Gr 7 Up-A dystopian novel in which governments have become broken and corporations rule. Overpopulation and pollution have turned the world into very dismal place where most humans are forced to live in impossibly small quarters, and clean air and water are luxuries of the wealthy. Monet O'Neal lives with her single mother in a tiny apartment in Boston. At the age of 15, Monet gets sick with the potentially deadly disease, Fluxem. The illness is curable, but only for those who can afford the extremely expensive antidote. In a desperate attempt to earn money to save her own life, and maybe even find love, Monet enters a contest to win a date with a rock star and $30,000. Gagnon adeptly creates a future that may not be too different from our own. The characters are engaging and well developed and the novel has the fixtures of many dystopian romances. VERDICT A must-read for those who enjoyed Kiera Cass's "The Selection" series (HarperCollins) and Lauren McLaughlin's Scored (Random, 2011).-Ellen Fitzgerald, White Oak Library District, Lockport, IL

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