Gemma Malley - The Declaration

Though most people I know describe my book collection eclectic with a slight deviation to urban fantasy books, my next review is on The Declaration by Gemma Malley, another dystopia fiction book.

The Declaration is the first of a trilogy set in Bloomsbury, Britain in the 22nd century where no one ages or dies but there is a price, no more children.

Overall Rating: 6

Recommended To: Those that like dystopia fiction, aimed more towards a female audience.

Favourite Character: Peter - forces Anna to see the truth of her situation

Favourite Part: He said that we belonged together because he was born with a flower and I was born with a butterfly and that flowers and butterflies need each other for survival. - Page 136

Good Points: The concept; Peter and Anna as a couple

Bad Points: Became predictable by the end; Anna frustrated me for a while

This book follows Anna Covey who lives in a society where you can live forever by taking a pill but they live forever by taking a pill but they are not allowed to have children, signing a declaration before being allowed to take the drug.  However, people rebel and when children are born, they are categorised as "Surpluses" and, for example in Britain, they are forced to live in Surplus halls.  Here they are taught their existence is in fact a crime but they can redeem themselves for their parents' crime of having a child and become a "Valuable Asset" through hard work.

Pretty much immediately I engaged with the book as it was set in Britain, with Malley being a British author.  A lot of dystopia fiction I have read is written by an American author and set in the States and The Declaration was fresh, being set in England specifically.  While I know where most places are in the States, when Malley mentioned places down south in England, I sadly became excited that I knew where she was talking about.  Simple things.

Though The Declaration is written primarily in the third person while mainly sticking with Anna, the use of a first person diary allows the reader to see what is going on in Anna's head occasionally which for me allows a connection to be formed.  The diary format allows a sense of adventure as well because Anna isn't allowed to be writing in this which adds a thrill when you know she is rebelling against the Legals.

Anna wants to become the best surplus to make up for her existence and her aim in life is to work for Mrs. Sharpe as a house keeper. However, with the introduction of Peter, a mysterious young man who doesn't succumb to the rules, it is easy enough to predict that there is going to be trouble for Anna.

...Sometimes her curiosity got the better of her and she found herself furtively asking questions about his life before Grange Hall, pretending as she did so that she wasn't really that interested. The truth was that Peter was a window through which Anna could glimpse the world outside, and the temptation to keep looking was quite overwhelming. - Page 56

The idea behind The Declaration breaks my heart as I believe children should feel wanted and being subjected to this torture is upsetting from an outside perspective. This concept actually made me question my own skills and how I would fare in this society. For me, if it made me think about myself in that situation the book is good as it is thought invoking and therefore engaging.

Much like any young adult fiction book, the main character falls for someone that is brought into their life recently (Katniss and Peeta, Bella and Edward to name two popular couples); Anna falling for Peter and changing her way of thinking to fit his was predictable for me but effective. The reason I feel it was effective was that I found Anna extremely frustrating in her way of thinking which had been drilled into her at a young age. Peter forces her to look at things differently so I feel he has allowed her to grow more.

Unfortunately, for me, the revelation of who Peter really is and his past was too predictable for me in the grand scheme of things which lowered it down in my rating overall; this just seems to be filler in the novel, boosting the page numbers. If this was taken out, the book still would have been effective for me.

I know this book and its sequels have been out for a while now but these are my predictions for the rest of the series.

Predictions

1. Anna and Peter continue their relationship

2. Peter takes part in the Resistance

3. Anna and Peter get to know their families