New York, N.Y. : Speak, 2013.
346 p. ; 21 cm.
I found Slated to be a good, but not great read. I love the plot set-up: in a near-future authoritarian state young criminals are not executed for serious crimes, but are "slated" - they have there memories wiped and are implanted with a surveillance/control wrist monitor (Levo) that physically requires them to moderate their mood - and will short-circuit their central nervous system if they become extremely angry/violent or extremely depressed. Upon being released from hospital training/confinement after being slated, the offender is place with an adoptive family.
But things in Slateland are not what they seem. Feared secret police / paramilitary agents called the Lorders keep a watchful eye on citizens and it seems likely that not all slated individuals were guilty of any crimes at all.
The story deals with main character Kyla who has a few abnormalities for a slated parolee - she has dream/memories and her Levo doesn't keep her from becoming angry or violent. In the course of the novel she begins to question her identity and status, all the while falling in love with another slated individual, Ben.
There are some exciting plot developments, and thrilling episodes where Kyla and others are in serious danger, but ultimately the publishing demands for a trilogy, force the plot to turn on too many improbables and the novel ends without any serious resolution.
I think this could have been a great young adult novel - with hints of V for Vendetta and the Handmaid's Tale (the Lorders reminded me a lot of Atwood's "Eyes") - if it had been limited to one volume with tight editing. But that, of course, would have limited the money-making potential for the publisher, and so instead of a satisfying novel, we are left with a third of a novel - a good third, but still a third.
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