Little sanctuary

Sixteen-year-old Sabel is puzzled by tonight's family meal, which seems to be a special spread of her and her four siblings' favorite foods. Sickness and savagery have toppled the world, their home country is plagued by bombings, the president is dead, thugs roam the streets, and goods like this feast are scarce. Following dinner, a black bus with tinted windows whisks the five youths away, leaving their parents behind. All 30 children on the bus are drugged and taken to an unknown island, where they're enrolled at an isolated boarding school. The young headmistress Chynoweth and her brother Gyre cryptically explain the rules: they'll stay for 10 days, after which a ship will come to pick them up. As Sabel and the others get to know one another, the children realize they're all from powerful ruling-class families, and that the administration are likely not who they say they are. In his YA debut, Boyagoda (Dante's Indiana, for adults) presents a restrained, austere tale that chronicles a series of threatening events that befall a vague, deliberately unspecified setting, creating a sense of mythos and timelessness. Perceptive depictions of class dynamics and societal collapse dominate this fever-dream read with Lord of the Flies undertones. Ages 12--up. (Feb.)

A 16-year-old girl and her younger siblings seek safety in a world that's falling apart. With their lives destabilized by war and a devastating sickness spreading, Sabel, who has "wood-coloured" skin, sits down with her family to share a last meal before leaving home. But instead of the family leaving together, Appa and Amma send the kids--Sabel, Reya, Theri, Verlane, and S'Jin--off on their own. After a turbulent and disorienting trek, they find themselves at an abandoned school on an island in another country with children from other unnamed "falling-down" places. These young people are called sugar diamonds; their powerful, "high-life" parents have used their connections--and lots of ghee, the new currency--to get them to some sort of safety. Now they're to bide their time until a ship arrives in 10 days. But with circumstances becoming increasingly suspicious, it's hard for them not to question whether their caretakers have other motivations. Boyagoda's young readers' debut explores themes of hope, belief, and resiliency. As details about the unraveling state of society are revealed, the story raises questions about and comparisons to past and present conflicts. Sabel is at the center of the narrative, but readers also hear directly from supporting characters--such as red-haired, green-eyed Chynoweth, a bookseller's daughter who's coerced into overseeing the children, and black-skinned Jaka, the eldest grandson of the "war-making man everyone called The General"--who nevertheless feel underdeveloped. A thought-provoking work for readers interested in exploring conflict and its aftereffects.(Dystopian. 14-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.