Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner, 279 pages
Standish Treadwell lives in a nightmarish totalitarian state
during an alternate-past 1956. His
parents, virtually all of his neighbors in Zone 7, and now his best friend,
Hector, have disappeared. The Motherland
is embroiled in a race to the moon that is shrouded in secrecy. Despite having a learning disability (dyslexia)
that places him far behind his classmates, Standish is a collector of words - a
dangerous position in a state where the Motherland punishes any perceived difference
or defect. Like the rest of his world,
school is a terrifying and brutal place for Standish.
Sally Gardner’s sparse language and short chapters won’t
scare off reluctant teen readers from this complex and deeply affecting story. Maggot
Moon was the recipient of the 2013 Carnegie Medal (a British award
recognizing outstanding children’s literature – similar to the Newbery Medal).
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