The Other Side of the Island (2008)

Hard to follow at times. Sketchy at the end. Might spur some good discussions. ( )

[October 2011]
Just re-read this, and found it more engrossing the second time through--which tells me it's better than a lot of the recent crop of dystopias. Still, the inconsistencies, and I still had a moment of "what??" when I hit the line about "she knocked back an arrow." No, you knock back drinks; you nock arrows. Arrrgh. Anyway.

Honor is 10 years old when her family moves to Island 365 in the Tranquil Sea. Her parents tell her it's an adventure, moving to this place, where they have no jobs and no money and everything is regulated by the Earth Mother and the Corporation. Honor desperately wants to fit in with the girls at her new school, but it's hard with parents like hers--parents who aren't willing to do the things they're supposed to, parents who have a second child, parents who name her Honor instead of a name with a proper "H" sound for her year--a name like Helen, or Hortense, or anything besides Honor. Eventually her parents are busted for their crimes (not a huge spoiler; it's pretty obvious from the beginning) and Honor finally gets wise to the world. WIth the help of her best friend Helix, of course.

Post-apocalyptic in that the planet is mostly destroyed; what's left are islands all over. We get infodumps a lot in the beginning as Honor is studying for the entrance exam for the school, and as infodumps go, they're pretty well integrated into the story, so kudos for that. This is more a dystopia, though; the Corporation controls absolutely everything, including the weather and the stars in the sky. Deviations from the norm are not tolerated; books are sanitized to eliminate any sad content or mention of things like bad weather; people who do not fall in line are drugged to the gills and given menial jobs.

Similar to the forthcoming Eye of the Storm (Kate Messner) for control of weather, Secret Under My Skin (McNaughton) for classism and societal control, Inside Out (Snyder) for classism, work assignments, and discovery of secret, forbidden spaces. Middle school level, maybe grades 6-9? A little more advanced than City of Ember, but not a taxing story by any means.


[January, 2009]
Looking at the other reviews of this book, it looks like you either love it, or think it's okay. I'm on the latter bench. I think it's a great dystopian book for slightly younger readers (middle school?) but it didn't grab me the way I wanted it to. The world, as intriguing as it is, never felt as real to me as (f'rex) Exodous, or even The Secret Under My Skin. I don't think we saw enough of the other characters--I'd have liked to have seen more interaction early on with Helix--and as a result, I never really locked onto anyone as the "identity" character. Oh, I feel for Honor, certainly--what pre-teen hasn't gone through the struggle to blend in with her peers?--but I never connected with her.

As sci-fi goes, this will be a pretty easy sell, and I really didn't hate it--I just didn't love it, is all. Add in a couple of inconsistencies along the way (a classroom pet goes missing after a storm, but then is around to cause a ruckus soon after?) and I'm going with around 3.5 stars. ( )

YA Goodman

Another dystopia! This one reminds me a lot of The Giver, but with a clearer setting, more information about how this place has come to be, and actually more realistic options for the people in the story. Honor and her parents have been reassigned to live on Island 365 in the Tranquil Sea. Her parents don't quite fit in, and neither does she in this extremely regulated place. In their first apartment, the Neighborhood Watch arrives to tell them that they are not allowed to sing Honor to sleep to make her feel better in this new place. Although the island is peaceful, it is difficult following the rules and being obedient to Earth Mother, the corporation that now runs the planet and regulates all life and events, including the weather. Honor meets Helix, who also is interested in more than what the people on the island are being offered. Slowly, Honor and Helix discover a horrible truth about life on the Island: one way or another, people who are unpredictable or different vanish, and they don't ever come back. This one is a good companion novel for The Giver in 6th grade, but also will work well with the Holocaust curriculum in 8th grade (the idea of controlled society, getting rid of those who are different, propaganda, etc). 6th grade and up. ( )

This book was very odd for me. I'm not really sure I even fully understand what happened!
It is set on an Island where the people are controlled by Earth Mother. Earth Mother is worshiped like a G-d. Earth Mother controls the weather. All books and sayings some how include earth mother. People must abide by Earth Mother's Rules such as staying in their house after curfew, going to bed at certain times, teaching children certain things.
Honor and her parents come to the Island from the North. It is clear from the beginning that Honor's parents are resisters (they have a second child, when this is not the norm, they name Honor with an H name as instructed but the H is silent so she's different, they stay out after curfew, they sing songs they are not supposed to, etc.). Honor is unhappy about this and even eventually changes her name to Heloise b/c she wants to fit in. She doesn't understand why her parents defy Earth Mother, even tho they drop many hints along the way.
I didn't find the language in this book interesting. the writing was very flat. The descriptions didn't really help me to see any type of scenery. The characters weren't interesting at all. The only character that grew was Honor, the others just kind of drifted along.
I also found there were many mistakes in the book. The author would say one thing but then a few chapters later it was contradicted. For instance, the school children who had parents wore a certain uniform while those who were orphans wore something different. Yet, when Honor becomes an orphan, she still wears the same school uniform. This was confusing to me.
I give this book a 2/5. I'm glad it's not a series b/c I would not read any more of them. ( )