Someone Is Always Watching

     They are teens who have been a close knit friendship group since they all enrolled at a new school run by the company that their parents work at. Blythe, who narrates most of book, is seen as the consummate good girl rule follower. Tucker, in contrast, is perceived as bad to the bone by the adults. Even his father seems to fear him. Tanya is Tucker's younger sister whom everyone thinks is his twin. And Gabrielle is Blythe's best friend. Devon had moved away awhile and returned wanting nothing to do with his former friends.

     Their world is shaken very badly one day. Gabrielle storms into biology lab ranting about the security cameras always watching. She's sent to the vice principal's office. When Blythe checks after class she sees Gabrielle covered in blood and the VP dead with his face bashed in. Then Gabrielle is flying at her wielding a bloody bronze trophy. 

     Except in the next chapter we learn that Blythe really fell in the bathroom and a concussion. The VP shot himself in the head. That day has become a blur in Blythe's mind. 

     The next week in the cafeteria Gabrielle is on a ladder. She's disabled a security camera and is holding a box cutter to her throat. This time she's placed in a private psychiatric hospital owned by the company. 

     Blythe and the siblings try to rescue Gabrielle who manages to escape without their help and attack Sydney, Blythe's little sister, before vanishing into thin air. 

     As things become ever more convoluted the friends struggle to find Gabrielle and learn the truth. But it may be darker and more dystopian than they imagine. Remember the company that employs their parents and owns the school? They conduct experiments on people's brains. And some of their experiments may be going sideways. 

     Kelly Armstrong's Someone Is Always Watching is in my mind the strongest dystopia of the decade so far. If you favor that genre you're in for a real treat.

On a purrrsonal note, UMaine's Black Bear Exchange recently had a huge clothes sale. Our customers were delighted with the bargains. 

A great big shout out goes out to all who participated in the event. 

Jules Hathaway 

 

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