The One Safe Place

safeplace

Unsworth, Tania. The One Safe Place. New York: Algonquin Young Readers, 2014. 978-1616203290 295 p. $15.95 Gr. 6-9.
Creepy.  Weird. Tense.  That’s the general consensus of readers of The One Safe Place and with good reason.  The story begins with Devin, who’s grown up in a hot, dry world on a remote farm with his grandfather, learning as many ways of the Earth as the good man can stuff into him, but it’s not enough.  When his grandfather dies, Devin attempts to keep everything going on his own but finally departs for a place known only to him as “the City.”  Here he is rightly overwhelmed by the changes, and as we learn, both disturbed and enhanced by his own synesthesia (of all five senses) which makes sounds, sights, even personalities, altogether so real for him.  He’s quickly robbed, finds a friend in fellow street child, Kit, and picked up by Roman, who promises a home and food for both of them.  As it turns out, rumors of the home are true, but Kit’s intuition telling her it’s dangerous is also true.  The home promises a chance at adoption by the elderly “Visitors,” something all the kids long for.  Slowly, Devin discovers the home’s true mission: to provide a second brief experience of childhood for the Visitors, damaging the children each time they swap minds and bodies.   As each child is “spoiled” (most can suffer through about twenty horrific treatments), they are “adopted”—or, as Devin learns—instead deposited, now empty shells, back on the streets.  Yet the Administrator and her assistant have carefully locked down their fortress to ensure no one enters or escapes without their knowledge.  Devin’s growing awareness of the danger and the varying descriptions of experiences during treatments make this a suspenseful tale.  Unsworth has skillfully explained each child’s strengths and weaknesses to allow for the climactic ending wherein they attempt escape.  Devin’s own strengths—his synesthesia, photographic memory, and love and memories of his grandfather—are pivotal.  The book lacks insight into the heavy topics it introduces (aging, desire for youth, death, abandonment and adoption), but the presentation of these issues is enough to make it a worthwhile read and discussion piece.  Include this on dystopian lit lists and give to any fans of The Giver or younger fans not quite ready for the grit of The Hunger Games.  Readers will be proud of Devin and how he fights back.  A phenomenal first novel for middle grade readers.
Dystopian          Melissa Scott, Shenango High School

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