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Content snapshot
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Violence
Some
Institutional abuse of children; the Surplus system involves psychological and physical control
Language
None
No profanity; clean YA register
Sexual Content
None
No sexual content
Substance Use
None
No substance use
Emotional Intensity
Some
The psychological damage of being raised to believe your existence is a crime — and learning otherwise — is the novel's central emotional journey
What this book is about
Gemma Malley's YA dystopian novel imagines a future where longevity drugs allow people to live forever — but the trade-off is that no new children can be born. Those born illegally are called Surpluses: stripped of rights, raised in institutions to believe their existence is a crime. Fourteen-year-old Anna has internalized this cruelty until a new boy arrives with a different story about her. A thought-provoking premise about the ethics of immortality and the rights of the unborn.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
Children raised to believe they are criminals
Institutional abuse and dehumanization
Reader Verification
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