Review of “The Other Side of the Island,” by Allegra Goodman
“The Other Side of the Island,” by Allegra Goodman is a dystopian style science fiction novel about a girl living in a future time when humans have started enclosing areas of the Earth as a way of dealing with the ruined environment.
Honor and her family have always been slightly eccentric. Although they live on Island 365 in the Tranquil Sea, Honor can sometimes remember a time when they lived somewhere else: somewhere where it snowed and the islands were not enclosed, but open to the sky. Even Honor’s name sticks out. All the children born in her year have names that begin with the letter “H.” But Honor’s name has a silent “H” that makes her stick out among the other children with names such as Helena, Harriet, and Haven.
In the glorious years of the Enclosure being different is not tolerated. The Corporation discovered long ago that differences were what made sadness and violence. Everything has to fit into its determined place. Even the sky color is controlled by the city projector that displays dependable sunsets and neat, orderly stars in the night sky projected onto the Enclosure over island 365.
Honor wants to fit in among her peers, and she is slightly ashamed and afraid of her parents. That are “Inaccurate,” the worst sin that could be committed in Honor’s world. They don’t pray to Earth Mother. They sing songs that were not written by the Corporation. She even suspects that they sneak out during the night curfew to leave the protection of the Enclosure and look at the sky outside.
Then Honor’s parents suddenly disappear, and Honor finds herself an orphan. Honor had long known that dangerous secret of island 365: those who don’t fit in disappear. But she had never suspected that it could happen in her own family. In the school orphanage Honor meets a boy named Helix. This daring young boy works in the island recycler, working in the paper section. He shows Honor the scraps of numerous books written before the Enclosure. Honor slowly begins to see the warped nature of the Corporation that owns her life. Then Helix tells Honor a secret. He knows where those who disappear go.
The answer lies on the other side of the island, that mysterious place where the sky is not enclosed. It is there that the Orderlies live. The Orderlies are strange robot-like humans that do all the unpleasant jobs that regular humans don’t want to do. Honor learns that her parents have been taken to the other side of the island and turned into Orderlies. They have been reprogrammed to work in manual labor jobs. Honor is determined to rescue them, not only from the other side of the island but from the system that they are forced to live under.
“The Other Side of the Island” is a great novel with a plot that is both realistic and exciting. Allegra Goodman has created a world almost completely flooded by the rising waters associated with global warming. Powerful storms frequently sweep the small islands that are all that remain of what were once huge continents. This unique world and is unusual culture and leadership keep the plot interesting.
The characters are also well developed. Honor is eager to fit in and gain the approval of others, but when it comes down to it she has the courage and pluck required to stand up against the Corporation. Honor’s parents, slightly scattered, creative, and rebellious lead the way for Honor to find the power she needs to save them later.
“The Other Side of the Island” is really an amazing science fiction book. In addition, there is bound to be future developments as the ending of the story hints at a coming sequel. I definitely recommend “The Other Side of the Island” to all young readers.
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