In a futuristic society sixteen-year-old Gem discovers that a group of handicapped people who call themselves the Waterbound live hidden beneath the City.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Some time in the future, people live with limited resources in a City run by the faceless, bureaucratic "Admin." Admin provides everyone with food and medical care, but as Gem discovers soon after she turns 16, it also has a secret: the Waterbound, disabled people exiled from a society where words like "blind" and "wheelchair" have been declared "obsolete" or of "figurative use" only. As Gem learns, the Waterbound have been shunted aside to live under the City, ever since "the Ruling.... Babies like us officially die when they are born," so that the City will not have to support them. Gem's curiosity and idealism push her, with the help of a few friends, to reveal the existence of the Waterbound to the citizens above, in such a way that Admin can not keep it quiet. This would be a more satisfying triumph if Admin were not so easily defeated, and if the story were not played out in a too-familiar setting, a Giver-like place, sketchy and symbolic. It's even populated by stock characters from YA fiction, which, although a bit of a change from the stock characters of science fiction, may not be enough to garner a following for this somewhat didactic first novel. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Gr. 6^-10. Sixteen-year-old Gem discovers an intricately folded paper flower one day, floating in a river Outside--that is, outside the brave new world of her highly controlled City of the future. One has to know just how rigidly administered the City is to appreciate how highly unorthodox it is not only to find such a flower but also, more importantly, to try to figure out where it came from. Finding out, and then dealing with the discovery, becomes the stuff of Waterbound. Gem's friend Jay reluctantly lets her in on the secret of the underground world called Waterbound, a place where less than perfectly formed children, including Jay's brother, J2, have been shut away. Against orders from Admin, the supposedly all-knowing government, a few brave souls have managed to keep the castaways alive, and they, in turn, have developed a community. The power of that community eventually leads them to force a resolution to the monstrous injustice. While Gem and Jay's characterizations never quite convey the force they should, sf fans will enjoy the techno aspects and intriguing plot. Anne O'Malley
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Disabled children have been exiled and left to die.,
By A Customer
This review is from: Waterbound (Hardcover)
In a possible future, in which the environment has been so degraded by humans that they must all live in a strictly regulated environment, disabled children--considered unworthy of society's attention and expenditure--are exiled and left to die. 16-year-old Gem, through the intervention of her friend Jay, is shocked to discover the world of these disabled children and teens, who have been rescued from death by compassionate adults. This novel explores intriguing and very current questions about the environment, genetic engineering and social values. Gem, Jay, and the other teens--both abled and disabled--are engaging, fully-rounded characters who make mistakes and have to deal with the consequences. Though the story ends on an affirmative note, there are enough unresolved issues to keep the reader thinking long after reading the last page.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very interesting book.,
By A Customer
This review is from: Waterbound (Hardcover)
A very powerful well-written book. About the lives of several very real and interesting people, in a future world suffering not so much from an evil and tyrannical dictatorship in the traditional sense, as from 'managerialism' and bureaucracy carried to horrifying extremes. Builds up to a powerful climax.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting, but sad,
By A Customer
This review is from: Waterbound (Hardcover)
I read this book a while ago, but I rememebr it rather well. It wasn't exactly very good, but it is a good learning experience. Telling people that you shouldn't think less of disabled people, especially the ones that are born into this world disabled. I think it has a sad ending, but I enjoyed it and I think it is quite good.
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