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The Danger of Small Things
Book Review
The Danger of Small Things is set in a dystopian world where bees are extinct so young girls are forced to leave their homes and pollinate flowers by brushing them with a paintbrush.The rules in the brushing camp and strict and ‘mothers’ stay on watch. A few of the girls become determined to regain their rights and freedom.
Jess (the main character) was also forced from her home and taken to a brushing camp. As the main protagonist she decides to team up with one of the guards and steal some paint and paintbrushes. Overnight she creates a beautiful image of what their world could be like without all of its famine and war.
As soon as the girls are able to they are made to leave the camps and marry. In this world they don’t believe in love but Jess’ friend Cass falls in love with Devi, another one of the girls. Once the guards catch on to this they drag Devi away and Cass is left devastated.
I really enjoyed this book and I would recommend it to fans of sci-fi and dystopian books.
About the Book
Imagine a world where honeybees have died out. It’s a patriarchal world where famines are rife. It’s a world without art, without books, without plays. Girls are sent away from home, forced to pollinate crops by hand with brushes and to marry as soon as they can.
Inhabiting this world is Jess and her friends Cass, Deva, and Ruth. But even if one fourteen‑year‑old knows that the system is dangerous, can she really stoke a revolution?
Author
Caryl Lewis
Caryl Lewis is a Welsh novelist, children’s author, and screenwriter who writes in both Welsh and English, and is known for her emotionally rich storytelling rooted in Welsh culture and landscape. She has won numerous literary awards, including the Wales Book of the Year award for her novel Martha, Jac a Sianco, which she later adapted into an acclaimed film. Lewis has also written popular children’s and young adult books, as well as television scripts, earning recognition as one of Wales’s leading contemporary writers.
Reviewer Profile
Amelia, 14
- Reviews: 8
- Likes: baking, paddle boarding and art
- Dislikes: homework and maths
- Favourite Book: Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron
- Favourite Film: Mean Girls
- Favourite Song: A.M. by One Direction
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