It's the year 2140 and Longevity drugs have all but eradicated old age. A never-aging society can't sustain population growth, however…which means Anna should never have been born. Nor should any of the children she lives with at Grange Hall. The facility is full of boys and girls whose parents chose to have kids—called surpluses—despite a law forbidding them from doing so. These children are raised as servants, and brought up to believe they must atone for their very existence. Then one day a boy named Peter appears at the Hall, bringing with him news of the world outside, a place where people are starting to say that Longevity is bad, and that maybe people shouldn't live forever. Peter begs Anna to escape with him, but Anna's not sure who to trust: the strange new boy whose version of life sounds like a dangerous fairy tale, or the familiar walls of Grange Hall and the head mistress who has controlled her every waking thought?
Chilling, poignant, and endlessly though-provoking, The Declaration is a powerful debut that will have readers agonizing over Anna's fate until the very last page.
The Declaration
1) Would your character want to live forever? What if it meant that no one else could ever be born?
2) Would your character risk imprisonment to rescue someone, even if they had never met that person?
3) Does your character believe what they are told by the authorities, or do they rebel?
4) Would your character keep a journal even if they could get in trouble for it?
5) Does your character have a low sense of self worth?
Oh I read this as well as the other book in the series (The resistance) earlier this year. The covers on mine were very different though - your cover is a lot more 'grown-up' somehow.
ReplyDeleteneat! This book sounds really good (never heard of it!) I honestly can't say how my characters would react but I think it's great food for thought- and yes, it can give you a better idea of who they are and what their limits are. Great post!
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, this book The Declaration sounds brilliant. I'll have to take a look at it.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, my character would fling herself head first in rescuing the kids of this hall. She'd be appalled at the way people live in unnatural circumstances that is harmful to the planet and prevents new life from forming. She wouldn't want to live forever and she would encourage others not to be afraid of a world with people who age. She'd tell them that aging is a beautiful thing. She wouldn't be afraid to rebel at all from the authorities.
Jai
Tracy- I picked this up after your recomendation. I really liked it, though I'm struggling a bit to get through #2
ReplyDeleteKatie and Jai you should really check out the first in the series. Can't say I'd recommend the 2nd or that it's even needed.
For my character William
1) He might want to live forever under certain circumstances. I think every creature on the earth works toward some form of immortality, but if it meant no one else would ever be born, he would not go for that.
2)William woud absolutely break someone out of a place they were being held against their will.
3) He would also go against what the authorities said, even if sometimes they are right.
4) I don't know that William would get much out of a journal, he's more a man of action.
5) His sense of self worth is very healthy, neither low or high.
This sounds like Logan's Run type thing - what a wonderful premise! Thanks for the info on this dark and exciting book!
ReplyDeleteAnd I like the idea of seeing how your novel's characters would react if put in a different novel's plot!!
Your questions have got my characters spinning!! Thanks! Take care
x
A lot of the answers to these questions are what spurs my MC on at the moment.
ReplyDeleteI like the sound of the book
I have to think about how my character will react, but I DO know I want to read that book!!!
ReplyDeleteThought-provoking questions for our characters, and ourselves!
ReplyDelete