Author(s): Penelope Todd

Children's Fiction

In this precisely imagined science-fiction novel, we are taken into a future which could be just a calendar year away. A future where the teenage characters decide to defy a new government imperative. he state has decided that all New Zealand citizens need to be 'Endorsed' - that is, vaccinated against new, deadly viruses. But the treatment means that citizens will also be permanently altered, so that all emotional highs and lows are chemically neutralised. Everyone's going on a permanent kind of Prozaca New Zealand's island status makes it an ideal social laboratory, and the rest of the world is watching keenly to see what the results will be. Yet the government clearly doesn't have the safety of its populace as its main agenda. Politicians and drug companies are working closely together behind the scenes, but a group of citizens swiftly sees the totalitarian overtones in the new health care policies. Main characters, Derek, Marti, and Disco see the sinister side of the edicts, and refuse the treatment, going on the run as part of a mass, organised protest.
Todd creates strong, assertive yet sensitive and sympathetic characters; her brave new world is convincing, the story compelling.