Comments on: who are these children?

Question: who are these children?

pointystick — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 14:44:13 -0800

Yet another what-is-this-book/story question (sci-fi, possibly young adult, writen pre-1983)

This, I think, is a novel and not a short story and either was YA sci-fi or at least an adult book appropriate for 11 year-olds.

It's a dystopian future society and there are children who don't live in families (and possibly made to labor) who escape or try to escape from their situation. The thing I remember best is that their first names began with the same letter if they were the same age. (like Anns would be a year older than Benjamins) I think the main boy character was an "E" and there was a "J" girl.

Does anyone else remember this?

At my small elementary school before they built the cafeteria, we would eat in our rooms and our teachers would sometimes read aloud to us. This was one of those books and it would have been read to us in the early 80's. I will be embarrassed but relieved if it is something obvious.

By: zippy

zippy — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 15:31:24 -0800

Are there aliens? Tripedal, pyramid-shaped aliens?

By: pointystick

pointystick — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 16:30:28 -0800

Zippy, I have no idea about aliens but I wouldn't rule it out.

By: mmkhd

mmkhd — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 16:39:44 -0800

Zippy was teasing about the books: "The White Mountains", "The City of gold and lead", and "The pool of fire" by Christopher Samuel Youd writing under the pseudonym John Christopher. As far as I remember the names of the children do not start with the same letter according to their age group (protagonist: Will Parker).

By: LobsterMitten

LobsterMitten — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 17:24:26 -0800

H.M.Hoover had a bunch of YA and children's sci fi books in the 70s and 80s that feature boy-girl teams of kids who have to escape from some dystopian situation or other. Children of Morrow or This Time of Darkness come to mind. I can't remember offhand if all kids of a certain age have the same name.

By: LobsterMitten

LobsterMitten — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 17:30:27 -0800

Ok, I think it's This Time of Darkness, about trying to escape from an underground city. That link should take you to the Amazon "search inside this book" for the second page of the novel, which describes a "learning center" with all A-named students.

By: pointystick

pointystick — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 19:23:07 -0800

Thanks, LobsterMitten. That's a possibility, but I don't remember Amy & Axel. I might order it just to see. It might be another of Hoover's books.

By: LobsterMitten

LobsterMitten — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 20:47:54 -0800

It does sound familiar, though...
Logan's Run has this kind of thing; Brave New World has something broadly similar, but both seem dark for fifth grade.

By: No Mutant Enemy

No Mutant Enemy — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 00:49:34 -0800

I don't suppose it was Anthem?

By: pointystick

pointystick — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 02:46:06 -0800

No Mutant Enemy and LobsterMitten, it wasn't those but eerily similar - like Anthem or Brave New World Junior!

A friend and fellow mefite remembers this too, but can add no more details except that the kids may have been on a farm or something for part of the book.

By: adamkempa

adamkempa — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 07:45:33 -0800

I strongly suspect you are talking about "The Girl who owned a City."

Which is funny because I posted an ask mefi question to recall the title as well.

By: pointystick

pointystick — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 14:16:10 -0800

Adamkempa, I can't tell from teh LookInside on Amazon, but it's a possibility - I will check it out!

By: LobsterMitten

LobsterMitten — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 18:58:00 -0800

It looks like Girl who owned a city was published in 1995, though - maybe that's a later edition?

By: silverstatue

silverstatue — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 07:52:06 -0800

it MIGHT be The Giver by Lois Lowrey. Dystopian society, kids getting assigned jobs at a young age, kid trying to escape, MAYBE same first initial thing. I'm at work so i cant check my copy.

By: pointystick

pointystick — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:17:04 -0800

Solverstatue, I love The Giver and that isn't the book, alas.

By: pointystick

pointystick — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:17:33 -0800

Silverstatue, sorry about mangling your name.