The Other Side of the Island by Allegra Goodman

In the 18th year following Enclosure, everything in people’s lives is regulated.  Honor and her parents move to live on Island 365, where they are kept safe by a Watcher’s tower, curfew is strictly set for everyone, and behavior is expected to conform to the norm.  But Honor’s parents don’t conform.  They leave in the middle of the night, take her to the edge of the ocean to feel the forbidden dangerous water, and most public of all, have a second child!  Honor knows that because of these behaviors, her family is in danger.  She does her best to conform herself, doing her school work perfectly, acting the same as other people, but it may not be enough to keep her family intact.

I have a mixed reaction to the cover of this book.  I love the girl, the clouds, the motion of it.  However, it really doesn’t read as dystopian science fiction and I worry that fans of that sort of novel will miss it.  This book is a gripping look at the future after climate change has melted the polar icecaps.  The world is now islands which are Enclosed with domes from the dangerous weather patterns.  Everything is about being safe, and that is achieved through uniformity and unity.  But at great cost.

The characters are well done, especially Honor who is very human, while being trapped in a society she doesn’t understand.  Her reactions drive the book, moving the story forward as she discovers the truth about her world.  The setting is equally well depicted, helping to show rather than tell the truth about the world to the reader. 

Highly recommended for fans of dystopian fiction.