Last year, I had read many dystopian-fiction books which I had enjoyed. My favorite book from 2014 was The One Safe Place, by Tania Unsworth. The story takes place on Earth in a nearish future when the world is considerably warmer.
There is less water, and whatever water that is left is owned by the rich. Devin, the main character, is raised by his grandfather, on a small, isolated farm. Once his grandfather dies, he inherits the land but realizes he cannot maintain it by himself; he is too young. He leaves for the city, and approaches orphaned street kids. He joins them, and becomes friends with a girl named Kit, who is a few years younger than him, but is very independent. Kit is a very good scavenger, and steals food. Stealing food is one of the only ways the street kids can eat. Other kids talk about a place for needy orphans where there is unlimited food and a place for them to stay, which Kit thinks is fake. A few days later Devin meets a boy named Roman, who says he can take them there. Elderly people come to the home to go through a process where their mind can be switched to one of the kids' minds so they can live life for an amount of time as a kid. They can forget about their worries and act like children. "...but it’s soon clear that it’s no paradise. As Devin investigates the intimidating administrator and the zombie-like sickness that afflicts some children, he discovers the home’s horrific true mission. The only real hope is escape, but the place is as secure as a fortress."(http://www.taniaunsworth.com/book/the-one-safe-place/)
I liked the twist that this story had: the home for the needy children was the opposite of what they thought it would be, and they had to fix it. I thought it was interesting how they would switch minds so they could live another life; somebody else would have to witness the pain from their real lives. The part of this book that will stick with me long after I've read this book is that the things that happened in this story are very realistic and can actually happen. The earth can run out of water if it keeps heating up, and if there is any, it will be hard to obtain and expensive.
An image that demonstrates my connection is a lady waiting for a dentist's appointment. This was also the inspiration for the author, Tania Unsworth's, book. She was in the waiting room waiting for her name to be called, and was nervous. She thought about how it would be nice if someone else could take her place in the exam chair, so they would "suffer all the discomfort, while her mind could be enjoying a small vacation somewhere else. It would have to involve some kind of mind-swapping procedure." (http://www.algonquinyoungreaders.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Unsworth-AE41.pdf) That was the same idea for the book, where suffering, elderly people could switch minds with a healthy, young child.
There is less water, and whatever water that is left is owned by the rich. Devin, the main character, is raised by his grandfather, on a small, isolated farm. Once his grandfather dies, he inherits the land but realizes he cannot maintain it by himself; he is too young. He leaves for the city, and approaches orphaned street kids. He joins them, and becomes friends with a girl named Kit, who is a few years younger than him, but is very independent. Kit is a very good scavenger, and steals food. Stealing food is one of the only ways the street kids can eat. Other kids talk about a place for needy orphans where there is unlimited food and a place for them to stay, which Kit thinks is fake. A few days later Devin meets a boy named Roman, who says he can take them there. Elderly people come to the home to go through a process where their mind can be switched to one of the kids' minds so they can live life for an amount of time as a kid. They can forget about their worries and act like children. "...but it’s soon clear that it’s no paradise. As Devin investigates the intimidating administrator and the zombie-like sickness that afflicts some children, he discovers the home’s horrific true mission. The only real hope is escape, but the place is as secure as a fortress."(http://www.taniaunsworth.com/book/the-one-safe-place/)
I liked the twist that this story had: the home for the needy children was the opposite of what they thought it would be, and they had to fix it. I thought it was interesting how they would switch minds so they could live another life; somebody else would have to witness the pain from their real lives. The part of this book that will stick with me long after I've read this book is that the things that happened in this story are very realistic and can actually happen. The earth can run out of water if it keeps heating up, and if there is any, it will be hard to obtain and expensive.
An image that demonstrates my connection is a lady waiting for a dentist's appointment. This was also the inspiration for the author, Tania Unsworth's, book. She was in the waiting room waiting for her name to be called, and was nervous. She thought about how it would be nice if someone else could take her place in the exam chair, so they would "suffer all the discomfort, while her mind could be enjoying a small vacation somewhere else. It would have to involve some kind of mind-swapping procedure." (http://www.algonquinyoungreaders.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Unsworth-AE41.pdf) That was the same idea for the book, where suffering, elderly people could switch minds with a healthy, young child.
This is a great summary of the book. It was very detailed, but didn't give too much away. This book sounds very interesting! I've never heard of any books that had mind-swapping in them. This also sounds cool because it takes place in the future.
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