All Good Children by Catherine Austen

Pages: 300

Intended Audience: Teens and Mature Tweens

Genre: Dystopian

Notes for parents: Some mature scenes

The Inside Cover

Quick-witted, prank-pulling graffiti artist Maxwell Connors is more observant than the average New Middletown teenager. And he doesn’t like what he sees. New Middletown’s children are becoming frighteningly obedient, and their parents and teachers couldn’t be happier. As Max and his friend Dallas watch their classmates transform into model citizens, Max wonders if their only hope of freedom lies in the unknown world beyond New Middletown’s walls, where creativity might be a gift instead of a liability.

What the Back Cover doesn’t tell you:

This is a 2012 White Pine Awards official selection.

What’s good?

This story has a chilling premise – using drugs to modify children’s behavior – which is hardly far-fetched considering how many children are currently being treated for ADHD, anxiety, depression, etc. The plot it evenly paced and the characters are very well drawn.  There are great moments of suspense, drama, sentimentality, and even humor.

Best part: Xavier, Dallas, Ally, Tyler, and the message that creativity is more important than obedience.

What’s not so good?

There were a lot of things that I didn’t like or understand:

Girls play football like equals, yet race, weight and orientation are still big issues? On that same note, I felt the constant references to race were unnecessary and distracted from the futuristic setting of what should have been a more developed culture.

In a society so advanced that drugs have been developed to control behavior, why do so many people still smoke? They’ve created genetically-enhanced people but still have cigarettes?

What are all the parents so complacent about their kids being drugged, especially since it strips the children of any vestige of a personality? There should have been at least a few objections!

Worst part: In the end, there’s no real resolution.

Recommendations þþþoo

It was a great premise with interesting characters and a solid plot, but overall I was left wanting. Ultimately this story doesn’t live up to its potential. It could have been so much better. However, I still enjoyed it. The writing is good, making for a quick and easy read.  

Austen, Catherine. All Good Children. Victoria, B.C.: Orca Book Publishers, 2011. (Hardcover)