ISBN: 978-1599901190
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA
Genre: Science Fiction
Pages: 320
Age Range: 12 and up
Series: No
Reader’s Annotation: Surplus Anna has grown up in a world where she is a leftover, unwanted by her society. When a boy shows up and presents her with the possibility of another reality, Anna must choose which story she will believe.
Summary: Surplus Anna has committed the worst sin in her world, she was born. In Anna’s world, where people stay alive due to longevity drugs, having children is outlawed. Anna lives in Grange Hall where other Surplus children are trained to become useful members of society. Anna does well until Peter, a recently captured teenager, shows up. He tells Anna stories about her parents, about her being stolen away as a child, and most importantly, that it is the older adults who have outlived their welcome. Anna is forced to choose which story to believe; the one she has been told all her life and that will lead to domestic servitude. Or, the one where her parents await her return anxiously. This is a thrilling ride through a future setting where children have become completely un-valued as adults struggle to hold onto their lives via drugs. Readers will empathize with Anna's unwillingness to believe Peter while they hold out hope that he is telling the truth.
