June 2010 Book of the Month.
Set in the future on an isolated island with its citizens divided into ‘sects’. To change position exams must be taken. We follow a young girl taking such an exam with her chosen subject a man who forged the beginning of their society. As she answers the examiners so she questions her beliefs and that of her upbringing. What emerges is a debate about philosophy and artificial intelligence, an extraordinarily thought-provoking work which was written as a children’s book and indeed long-listed for the 2009 Guardian Children’s Prize. The writing is simplistic, the themes are not.
Comparison: Unique but try Jostein Gaarder (Sophie’s World) or Ray Bradbury.
Primary Genre | Fiction |
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