Fake by Ele Fountain

"There's a lot of money to be made from keeping people in one place, with only their screens. Think of all the shopping for a start. Why change things if most people are happy? ... 

The ones making all the money are smart. 

They're very generous to the people who made the laws, so they won't rush to change them."

The best authors of dystopian fiction do not reveal everything at the start of their story - they carefully insert tiny fragments of information so as a reader you can 'join the dots' and infer the way of the world in this future time. I adore this style of writing. 

As this book opens, Jess who is fourteen is about to head away to school. She is leaving her beloved younger sister Chloe behind. On the first page we read the word ROOM (I am not going to tell you about this you need to read Fake to understand this). Then on page 15 there is a mention of a portal watch which Jess uses to connect with her friend Finn. It is some sort of video phone.  Chloe and Jess also have a pet kitten. Surely this is not a problem but then Finn comments "Keeping a pet. That's an offence." It is now time to leave but how will Jess get to her new school. We read that the transport has been charged.  

"No transport has space for luggage - big transports waste electricity. ... Families used to have massive cars which could carry everything. Transports only have room for seats, to save energy."

Then we read these chilling words "mum warned me that some students will never have met another child before." and there is a mention of live-learning. The other students take health supplements and have their online shopping delivered by drone. In her trunk Jess has bought some of her fathers precious books. Mae, her room mate has never touched a paper book. 

In this world of the future, children learn on screens at home so they are protected from diseases until they are fourteen when their immune systems have developed.  

"After the antibiotics stopped working I thought they made all kinds of laws to protect us. ... But that was twenty years ago during the Scarlet Fever epidemic."

There is no money, only credits. Chloe needs expensive medicines and her parents, who live on a farm, have very few credits and the price of the medicine keeps rising. Jess has learned about coding and computer hacking. She has a plan to help her family but days in the new school are busy and tiring and working on complex coding at night might not be a good idea because mistakes can easily happen. Mistakes with shocking consequences for her precious family. 

This book is such a terrific commentary on our modern world - on our use of and dependence on technology; on the implications of disease such as the Covid Pandemic; and our concerns with personal privacy when the State collects so much data about our lives. Heavy stuff!  Yes. I nearly gave this book five stars but, to me, the ending was a little rushed and perhaps a little too perfect but this aspect of the story is sure to deeply satisfy young readers aged 10+. 

" ... a compelling thriller with fantastic characters set in a futuristic world where everyone is isolated from each other in their homes."  Books up North

"Well, this is an absolute corker of a story, one that feels slightly surreal as you read and relate to particular events and situations. There is a true link to what we have endured during the initial Covid 19 lockdowns and fear from society."  My Shelves are Full

Companion reads:

Chance of Safety

Where the River runs Gold

Catch me if I fall

Among the Hidden

The Girl who could Fly