Everywhere Everything Everyone

 Everywhere Everything Everyone

Reviewed By  Grasshopper2       August 1, 2019

 

Author  Katy Warner

Distributor:      Hardie Grant Egmont
ISBN:                 9781760504618
Publisher:         Hardie Grant Egmont
Release Date:   August 2019  

   Website:   https://www.hardiegrant.com/au

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Everywhere Everything Everyone from Katy Warner will keep you reading and turning pages until solutions have been found. She has written a fast-paced tale with twists and turns to entrance the reader in a setting which could be anywhere, with well developed credible characters, the situation, scarily possible.

We first meet sixteen-year-old Santee as she is running home. She has been to school for the day and then has gone to try and see her father. Her mother is frantic when Santee comes to the door of their apartment, as she has only just arrived before curfew.

By now we realise that this is no normal family and their situation is causing great stress. This family live on the wrong side of town, where the poorer people reside. The people are known as a THREAT or POTENTIAL THREAT. As such, a person can be taken away and incarcerated, which is what happened to Santee’s father. He made the mistake of speaking out against the ruling regime.

Santee is a loner; isolated at school because of her father. Zac, a new boy to the school, befriends her and admires her fine art work. A friendship gradually develops, and when she finds out that Zac’s mother has also been taken away, their bond deepens.

One afternoon Zac asks Santee if she will go for a ride in the car with him. When the car breaks down the pair are stranded for the night. The following morning, they hitch a ride home, but the most calamitous situation has developed. With horror she realises she may never see her family again.

As the story develops, we see people begin to support each other in quiet ways to overcome the monstrous regime and its spread of fear. By small acts and tiny murmurings, a protest group slowly emerges with individuals seeing their presence and contribution can make a difference.

The fascinating political scene and the gentle romance developing make this a Young Adult novel that gives a powerful message. One person can make a difference and being different is natural. Spreading fear to control people is a much-used tactic by weak leaders. And by recognising these facts, it gives younger people an insight into the role that power plays in our world.

A powerful young adult debut novel from award winning playwright Katy Warner.

 

Fiction, Young Adult