The Other Side of the Island by Allegra Goodman

Island 365 is Honor's new home. After The Flood, there are few habitable islands left that are "safe", and # 365 is one of them. Apparently, where they were living before wasn't, because they were "reassigned". Honor, our lovely main character, was born under the year H - everyone born in that year is required to have a name beginning with, obviously, H. But "Honor", although it was on the accepted list when she was born, isn't a suitable name. Because it sounds like year O. Tsk, tsk. Mother Earth won't be happy.

And that's just one tiny detail that's part of a much bigger list of misdemeanors, all being controlled by The Corporation and Mother Earth. From the beginning, you can tell things are a little funky, but with each page you're given a tiny bit more info.

Why are people losing their memory? Why do all the text books lie? What happens to the people who "disappear"? Is New Weather really working? This is just a small sample of the questions you'll be asking once you get past, oh, page 10?

This book is much more fun if you're figuring things out along with Honor, but you get the gist from the summary I gave you. It's freaking fantastic. You can tell a whole lot of plotting went into this book. And there are so many different places it could have gone - I read this with my friend Megan, and we both agreed it would be great for fan fic. It's a completely great story, with it's own little world, but the entire time I was wondering what was going on in other areas and Islands. This story is completely larger than the book.

The only thing that irked me were the parents. If I described them to you, they would seem completely admirable and lovable, but for some reason they just bugged me in print. Even though I didn't agree with Honor's actions a lot, she seemed more realistic and likable than anyone else. Except maybe Helix. But definitely more than the 'rents.

Anyway, I don't know what Allegra Goodman's other books are about, or whether they're as good as this one, but I know for a fact, just from reading The Other Side of the Island, that she's gifted.

And I think she left room for a sequel. She better be writing it now. Or I'll throw a fit.