I have so many questions! Lowry did a superb job of creating a world that everyone’s happy to be in, and no one would want to live through. My students are only on chapter 1, but I would bet some of them will read through the book more quickly than assigned for the same reasons I kept reading whenever I got the chance.

The parallels between this and dystopian literature written for older audiences are striking. Themes of control, lack of privacy, and the actions against forming meaningful attachments are all present. Lowry brings a lack of color to the fore in a unique and powerful way, but leaves the reader wondering how this was accomplished.

The ending was perfectly suited to the book.