6/10, I was hoping that I would enjoy this sci-fi novel released more than a decade ago considering that I didn't enjoy the last one that I read however this wasn't any better at all, it was not that good of a dystopian novel and I won't see myself picking up the next two books in the series, where do I begin. It starts off with a diary entry of all things from the main character Anna Covey or Anna for short and she describes what happened to the world when people became immortal so children weren't really a thing anymore which seemed interesting to me but I was wondering how did they become immortal in the first place, I don't really know. The writing style was flat and even patronising at times, and so were the characters, I didn't feel anything for them. In the first half of the book, nothing happens except that I got to see Anna living in the orphanage for so long and then she meets another boy whose name I forgot and I can't believe it, this is the millionth time I've seen a romance shoehorned into a dystopian/sci-fi novel. The action finally picked up around the second half, and then the author decided to drop the ball and make the book drag even further, and it ended in a fizzling out cliffhanger. I won't recommend this to anyone and if you want a better dystopian novel try 1984 by George Orwell and Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. ( )

The year is 2140 and people can live forever through Longevity drugs, but they must make the Declaration and never have a child. If they do give birth, they go to prison and the child becomes a surplus and goes to someplace worse than prison—Grange Hall. Anna is a fourteen-year-old surplus and she has been indoctrinated to hate her parents for breaking the Declaration and bringing her into the world, to Know Her Place, and to grow up to be a Valuable Asset. She has learned her lessons so well and atoned for the Sins of her parents so completely, that she is a Prefect of her floor and a Pending—Pending Employment as a maid for a Legal. But then an unusual new Pending comes to Grange Hall and threatens Anna’s future as a Valuable Asset. Peter claims he knows Anna’s parents and that they have been looking all over for her. This causes Anna to question everything she has been raised to believe about herself and the world. Should she trust Peter? Can she actually have a different life? This futuristic novel raises interesting questions about overpopulation, scarce natural resources, immortality, and much more for teens who like science fiction. ( )

Anna is illegal and hated-just for being born. Set in 2140, a drug called longevity has made immortality a reality. With this, overpopulation is a serious concern. Children have been outlawed-and those that are born are captured and trained to be slaves to the immortal. Anna is a ‘Surplus’ living in Grange hall. She meets a rebellious teenager named Peter who opens her eyes to other possibilities in the world and a choice to make regarding her place in it. ( )

I really enjoyed The Declaration. I think it has a really cool premise, and I absolutely could not put it down.

Setting
This book has a dystopian setting. I don’t normally like dystopians very much, but The Declaration had a really interesting, unique premise.

Basically, they have this drug called Longevity, that stops people from aging. But you aren’t allowed to have children, so that they have enough resources for the people who are already there.
Of course some people have children anyways. Those children are called Surpluses, and they’re basically raised to be servants.

I think the world was developed well. It could have been done better, but it was pretty well developed. I understood it, and I could believe it. Actually, I think it was sort of scarily believable. Because that would NOT be a nice world to live in. At all.

Plot
So our MC Anna, is a Surplus. She grew up in the hall where they train Surpluses,* and she’s just hoping to end up working for someone who’s at least somewhat kind.

Then a boy shows up. He’s spent his whole life free, only getting caught now, at Anna’s age. He tells her about the Outside, and tries to convince her to escape with him.

One thing, (this has absolutely nothing to do with the plot, but there wasn’t anywhere better to put it) is that it starts with a really long journal entry. It’s a tiny bit tedious, but just push through it, and then the book is great.

*And by ‘train’ I mean try to make them into mindless servants.

Characters
The characters in this book didn’t particularly stand out to me. They were good enough, they just weren’t anything special.

Anna – Although Anna didn’t really stand out to me, I thought she was well developed. In the beginning she was very obedient, trying to be a perfect Surplus. She hated her parents for breaking the law, and she was ashamed of herself for existing.
As the story went on, however, and she learned more about her parents, and the world in general, she started to change her mind.
Peter – Peter was definitely my favourite character in this. He was fierce, and stubborn, and always getting into trouble. He’s the one who tries to convince Anna to escape with him, and he’s honestly sort of great.
Sheila – She’s an interesting character, she technically isn’t a Surplus, but she is treated like one, and nobody quite believes her when she says she isn’t. She’s a couple years younger than Anna, and she gets picked on a lot. There were some interesting developments with her character in the end, and I’m really curious where it’s going with her character.

Over All, The Declaration is quite a good book, I loved the setting, and the characters were well developed. ( )

This book takes place in 2140. The government has legalized longevity drugs, however, made the population taking them sign a declaration. This declaration makes it illegal for anyone taking the drugs to have children. If they do, that child becomes a surplus who is brainwashed into thinking their parents are sinners and they are trained to become slave-like figures for the legal people. Anna is a surplus who strongly believes her parents betrayed mother nature and is working hard to some day work for a "legal". She soon finds out the truth. ( )