Review: Special

Blain has created a not-too-distant-future that is very bleak. She has used many current technologies and extended them to the extreme. Children are now created by design; those who can afford it can pay for any modifications for their offspring they choose, be they aesthetic or intellectual, like purchasing a product from an online catalogue. However, for the poorer members of society, there is a lottery and a chance for their child to escape the slums.
Fern is a Lotto Girl: designed from pre-birth to be Special. She will be trained at an elite boarding school to then be part of the privileged class. However, when we meet her, she has had her identity wiped, and is now known as Delia Greene. She is alone and struggling to survive in the harsh world of the slums. And she can trust no-one.
There is a lot of dystopian YA fiction on the market. I felt this was a cut above many others in this genre. Fern is not perfect, she can be selfish and naive, confused and needy, and I feel this makes her more real for the intended audience. Also, this dystopian novel is suitable for readers from Year 7, unlike others that contain more explicit material.
I’m not sure if Georgia Blain intended to continue Fern’s story, and I know others found the ending abrupt. I liked the ending! I feel very confident in recommending this book to readers from Year 7+ looking for a one-off dystopian novel.

• Review
• Georgia Blain