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A review by mfumarolo
The Rule of One by Leslie Saunders, Ashley Saunders
4.0
In a future United States existing on a planet where climate change has destroyed the food supply and a large population cannot be supported, a law has been enacted across the land for several generations: The Rule of One. One child per family. Every state has its politicians and leaders to enforce the rule, but in Texas the head of the Family Planning Division has a secret: identical twin daughters. For their entire lives, Ava has been the name that goes out into the world, the one with the government-mandated microchip, the only one who legally exists. But every night, she and Mira fill each other in on what happened out in the real world before they switch places. One goes to school while the other stays home, sticking to their carefully constructed routines so no one will suspect they are actually two different people taking turns. But the plan isn't foolproof, and when their secret is exposed, the girls go on the run across the country seeking answers, safety, and a sense of an independent self that neither of them have ever been allowed to have before.
This was a fast-paced dystopian adventure, one that contains themes hitting close to home with topics such as bodily autonomy, climate change, and the increasing rate at which the US government seeks to control individual citizens. Aspects of this world-building clearly harken back to George Orwell's 1984, others to Octavia Butler's legendary The Parable of the Sower. I think it's also important to note that this book was written by a pair of identical twins, which added an interesting and authentic layer to our protagonists' relationship. I have this book in my middle school library where it has been consistently read ever since it came out, particularly popular with my 8th-grade students after they do their annual dystopian unit. There are some elements, however, that may make younger readers want to wait until they are a bit older to read this. It is correctly classified as a young adult novel - there is some swearing, there are allusions to mature situations, and at two points in the book, there are attempts of sexual assault, one more obvious than the other. If you have read Veronica Roth's Divergent, it is on par with an event that takes place in that book. The ending of the book clearly sets up for the sequels that follow, and I hope to pick those up down the road as well.
This was a fast-paced dystopian adventure, one that contains themes hitting close to home with topics such as bodily autonomy, climate change, and the increasing rate at which the US government seeks to control individual citizens. Aspects of this world-building clearly harken back to George Orwell's 1984, others to Octavia Butler's legendary The Parable of the Sower. I think it's also important to note that this book was written by a pair of identical twins, which added an interesting and authentic layer to our protagonists' relationship. I have this book in my middle school library where it has been consistently read ever since it came out, particularly popular with my 8th-grade students after they do their annual dystopian unit. There are some elements, however, that may make younger readers want to wait until they are a bit older to read this. It is correctly classified as a young adult novel - there is some swearing, there are allusions to mature situations, and at two points in the book, there are attempts of sexual assault, one more obvious than the other. If you have read Veronica Roth's Divergent, it is on par with an event that takes place in that book. The ending of the book clearly sets up for the sequels that follow, and I hope to pick those up down the road as well.