Dark Parties

June 13, 2011
Sixteen-year-old Neva lives in Homeland, a country protected by an electrified dome called the Protecto-sphere. Shut away, the population becomes more homogenous and inbred, and their resources dwindle. Neva's grandmother believed there was still life outside the dome, but she disappeared 10 years ago and now heads Neva's "List of The Missing," a roster that grows daily. At a "dark party," a gathering in total darkness, Neva and her friend Sanna incite their peers to rebel and demand the opening of the Protectosphere, but the revolution fizzles, and Neva is taken in for questioning. Assigned to a new job, Neva is determined to uncover the truth, and she learns Homeland's ugly secrets at great cost. Aside from Neva, Grant's characters don't evoke sympathy or empathy, and dystopia fans will find many recycled concepts, even harking back to Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four. Heavy-handed terminology and imagery (e.g., the inherent individuality of a snowflake) let down this dark examination of governmental control. Ages 12âup.

July 15, 2011

This debut dystopian novel manages to turn an overused plot into a quick, entertaining read.

In a land of the future in which a Protectosphere encapsulates its dwindling population of citizens, who all look similar, 16-year-old Neva Adams throws a party completely in the dark. While it's meant to bring out her peers' differences and serve as a last hurrah before starting their assigned jobs, it becomes the impetus for Neva to discover what's happening to all the disappearing young women and ferret out the truth about life before and beyond the Protectosphere. But there's one more complication brought out by the dark party: She falls for Braydon, her best friend Sanna's boyfriend, and realizes she's no longer in love with Ethan, her own longtime boyfriend, who changed after being arrested by the authoritarian government. In this edgy and evenly paced first-person adventure, Neva uses her position in the office of her father, the Minister of Ancient History, to dig for information, but she doesn't know whom she can trust with it—secretive Braydon, evasive Ethan, her seemingly demure mother or a host of anonymous citizens who claim to be helping her—especially when Sanna becomes one of the missing, and there's a chance to escape the Protectosphere.

True fans of dystopia will find more original and thought-provoking storylines elsewhere, but less exacting readers will enjoy it. (Dystopia. 12 & up)

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

December 1, 2011

Gr 9 Up-Neva is a citizen of Homeland, a small country completely enclosed by an electrified dome called the "Protectosphere." The dome was erected after the "Terror," and Neva and the rest of the population have been taught that beyond the dome is an unlivable wasteland. Homeland suffers from dwindling resources and a limited gene pool. Young people are encouraged to marry and reproduce to maintain the population. Neva and her best friend, Sanna, suspect that the government is lying, and at a "Dark Party" (the only one mentioned in the entire book), they try to rally their peers to rebellion to demand the opening of the Protectosphere. Their efforts are short-lived and have severe repercussions. Soon Sanna is added to Neva's list of The Missing, but not before Neva betrays her with bad boy Braydon, Sanna's boyfriend. Neva will have to risk all for her friend and for a chance at real romance with Braydon. Comparisons to Ally Condie's Matched (Dutton, 2010) are inevitable. Unfortunately Grant's characters, setting, suspense, and romance don't quite measure up. Fans of Condie (and Suzanne Collins) will be disappointed.-Anthony C. Doyle, Livingston High School, CA

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2011
Grades 8-12 When things went bad, after the Terror, the government built a Protectosphere around the Homeland. Now, with the country running out of resources and with low-population and inbreeding problems, young citizens like 16-year-old Neva and her friend, Sanna, are rebelling. At least theyre trying to, but their activities put them right in the governments headlights. Nevas search to find out whats really happening in the Homeland leads from her fathers office in the Ancient History Department to the homes of the rebels to a nasty Womens Empowerment Center, where she tries desperately to locate Sanna, whos been grabbed. But Sannas furious with her because Neva has feelings for Sannas mysterious boyfriend, Braydon. Debut author Grant travels some well-trod territory, but she makes it her own, primarily by adding nonstop action and plenty of romance. The make-out scenes are short but hot; however, its really the heart-pounding rush of twists that will induce extreme page turning.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)