Goodman - The Other Side of the Island

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Table of Contents

Praise for ALLEGRA GOODMANS THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ISLAND

A BEST BOOK OF 2008!

LA Times The Washington Post The Village Voice

A powerful success... Thought-provoking and alarmingly relevant.PW, Galley Talk

Goodmans fiction proves that she can tackle big subjects with graceful and perceptive prose... a top-notch genre piece.

PW (Starred Review)

A dark vision rendered in wonderful and imaginative detail... likely to be read in one sitting.LA Times

Gripping, beautifully written... A dystopian page-turner, The Other Side of the Island evokes other YA favoritesin particular, Lois Lowrys The GiverGoodman does a stellar job... Bracing, exhilarating... Big Brother better watch out.

The Washington Post

Gripping and creepily prescient.The Village Voice

Chilling... A compelling science-fiction novel.

School Library Journal

Fans of dystopic and speculative fiction will want to check this outtheres certainly much material for discussion and debate.Horn Book Review

A satisfying and compelling read.

Bulletin of the Center for Childrens Books

The simple prose, clear message and timely topic make this a solid introduction to the (dystopian) genre for middle-grade readers.Kirkus

Offers readers plenty to consider.Booklist

A chilling vision of the future, written with imagination and flair... exotic and surreal.Alan Lightman,

International Bestselling author of Einsteins Dreams

The Other Side of the Island
RAZORBILL
Published by the Penguin Group
Penguin Young Readers Group
345 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, U.S.A.
Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, U.S.A.
Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
M4P 2Y3 (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.)
Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
Penguin Ireland, 25 St Stephens Green, Dublin 2, Ireland
(a division of Penguin Books Ltd)
Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia
(a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd)
Penguin Books India Pvt Ltd, 11 Community Centre,
Panchsheel Park, New Delhi - 110 017, India
Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, North Shore 0632, New Zealand
(a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd.)
Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd, 24 Sturdee Avenue,
Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa
Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

Copyright 2008 Allegra Goodman

All rights reserved

eISBN : 978-1-101-05716-2

[1. Science fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.G61353Ot 2008
[Fic]dc22
2007050915

Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not
participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials.
Your support of the authors rights is appreciated.
The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume
any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

http://us.penguingroup.com

For my children:
Ezra, Gabriel, Elijah, and Miranda

PART ONE

ONE

ALL THIS HAPPENED MANY YEARS AGO, BEFORE THE STREETS were air-conditioned. Children played outside then, and in many places the sky was naturally blue. A girl moved to a town house in the Colonies on Island 365 in the Tranquil Sea.

The girl was ten years old, small for her age but strong. Her eyes were gray. Her hair was curly to begin with, and it curled up even more in the humid island air. She had been born after the Flood in the eighth glorious year of Enclosure, and like everyone born that year, her name began with the letter H. Her name was rare, and in later cycles it was discontinued, but at that time it was still on the lists. She was called Honor.

The town house stood almost at the barriers near the beach. There was a downstairs with a living room and a tiny kitchen, and upstairs, a bathroom and two bedrooms, one big and one small. If you stood at the window in the smaller front bedroom, the ocean was frighteningly close, but there were protective bars on the windows.

Honors parents were young and clever, and they loved to laugh. Will and Pamela Greenspoon did not wear brown or tan like most people, but old-fashioned clothes in strange colors: peach and gray and even black. They were both engineers. They had nothing to put in their house because their trunks had not arrived yet from the North. Honors parents had no coupon books for the Central Store, because they had not yet started their new jobs. They had never been to the Colonies, and they didnt know anyone on the island, but they told their daughter that was part of the adventure.

Thats what you said last time, Honor pointed out as she lay down to sleep on the bare floor with her fathers raincoat balled up for a pillow.

We wont move again for a while, said Pamela.

How long is a while? Honor asked.

Well see, said Will.

A year?

Well see.

Three years?

Its late, Pamela cut in. You need to get your sleep. Youve got the school interview tomorrow.

Even though the Greenspoons had no furniture, they had taken Honor for testing at the famous Old Colony School.

The admissions tests for the Old Colony School took an entire day. There were tests in reading, copying, mathematics, science, and geography. If students did well enough on those tests, they were invited to interview. But interviews were not held at school. The interviewer came to the house to examine the whole family.

Before breakfast, Honor heard the knock on the door. Her parents were nervous because the house was so empty. They had borrowed folding chairs from the neighbors, but they worried that the interviewer would mark them down for lacking a proper couch.

Honor opened the door and saw a blue-eyed woman with soft curly hair under her sun hat. Her eyes were clear blue as marbles, her skin pale powdery white.

Good morning. My name is Miss Blessing, said the woman.

Please come in, said Pamela. Come sit down.

Would you like something to drink? asked Will when they were all seated. We have cold guava juice.

No thank you, said Miss Blessing. She didnt look at Will and Pamela at all. She was looking straight at Honor. Your test scores are excellent, she told Honor. I have a few simple questions for you today.

Honor glanced at her father. He smiled at her encouragingly.

Tell me the name of your old school, Miss Blessing said.

I didnt go to school, Honor said.

Why dont you tell me some of your favorite activities, Miss Blessing said in a friendly way. Honor didnt answer immediately, so Miss Blessing said, Pottery, for example. Music, gardening, sewing...

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