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All Good Children

by Catherine Austen (Goodreads Author)

3.71 of 5 stars 3.71 · rating details · 526 ratings · 125 reviews

It's the middle of the twenty-first century and the elite children of New Middletown are lined up to receive a treatment that turns them into obedient, well-mannered citizens. Maxwell Connors, a fifteen-year-old prankster, misfit and graffiti artist, observes the changes with growing concern, especially when his younger sister, Ally, is targeted. Max and his best friend, D...more

Hardcover, 300 pages

Published October 1st 2011 by Orca Book Publishers

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Sep 27, 2011 Lawral rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc, ya, 2011

All Good Children is a great book. The world that Austen has created really is a whole lot like ours could be in, oh, 50 years (or less). The majority of the population is desperately poor and living in cars they cannot afford to fuel. The (what we now call) middle class minority works in some capacity with the booming elder care industry. Everyone has an RIG that connects them constantly to entertainment, work, communication, whatever (ie, it's what iPad aspires to be). A chemical spill has cre...more All Good Children is a great book. The world that Austen has created really is a whole lot like ours could be in, oh, 50 years (or less). The majority of the population is desperately poor and living in cars they cannot afford to fuel. The (what we now call) middle class minority works in some capacity with the booming elder care industry. Everyone has an RIG that connects them constantly to entertainment, work, communication, whatever (ie, it's what iPad aspires to be). A chemical spill has created a whole region's worth of people born with physical deformities...that compete on a reality TV show. The cities are dangerous places, and everyone has moved to gated communities (actual communities rather than housing developments) for their own safety. That they've given up a whole host of civil liberties in exchange for that safety bothers almost none of them. They even give up the right to know what vaccinations are being administered in their children's schools and why their children suddenly have no discernible personalities. It's cool though, because they're just so darn well-behaved.

Max is not well-behaved. He never has been, and if he has anything to do with it, he never will be. He, along with his best friend Dallas, struggle to maintain their own thoughts and personalities while pretending to be perfectly "good children." Their struggle was awful, but their friendship was great.

The fact that Max's mom is Black and his father was white is not a constant issue, but it is an important one. In their own community, it is a non-issue (or it's supposed to be), but outside is another story. Without the visual aid of their father, Max's mom is always eyed with suspicion while traveling with Max and his sister Ally.

Though it is published by Orca, it is not technically a hi-lo (high interest, low reading level). It's appropriate in both areas of measurement for the 12 and up set. It is, however, about a couple high school seniors and could be used as reading material for the same. I think it will be great for reluctant readers and dystopian lovers alike.

Book source: ARC provided by the publisher through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program.

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Feb 20, 2013 Me rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: forest-of-reading

All Good Children was an OK book. The author really pointed out what was important, and the character's desires and emotions were always known. However because the book spanned a three month period, we were not always with Max, which with the time lapse makes us a little detached. Also in the focusing of the issues for the protagonist, some fundamental information about their society is missing. Any thing that was given to us was fully explained, but how the world became that way is unclear as M...more

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Nov 18, 2012 Cameroncookies98 rated it 4 of 5 stars

I would recommend the book "All Good Children" by Catherine Austen to a friend because it was a spooky story, and I could relate to Max. The suspense makes you want to keep reading. "'You can't take our stuff!' I yelled." pg. 296. This whole book is based on the new treatment that teachers are using to control student's behavior, called "Nesting". This line makes me cringe because Max is supposed to act proper without any emotion, which is what nesting does to kids, yet he is showing anger. He...more

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Nov 13, 2012 Kathy rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book was in my summer reading pile but it got lost on my night stand table. I just discovered it a week ago again and decided to read it at the hockey arena. Thank goodness it was a practice because I could not put it down!

The story is dystopian with the angle that children need to be controlled in order to have a productive society. In order to control the children, they need to be "vacinated" with a drug that will alter their state of mind. No longer are children running wild in the playg...more

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Aug 17, 2012 Jessica rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-fiction, young-adult-books

This book was just okay. I liked the writing style. It is very comfortable and natural, written in a convincing voice that I felt represented a fifteen-year-old boy realistically. I didn't really connect very strongly with any of the characters, though. I felt like most of the focus of this book was on teenage angst and antics rather than character or plot, which is what I'm most interested in when I sit down to read a book. As mentioned, this author does a good job of convincingly and realistic...more This book was just okay. I liked the writing style. It is very comfortable and natural, written in a convincing voice that I felt represented a fifteen-year-old boy realistically. I didn't really connect very strongly with any of the characters, though. I felt like most of the focus of this book was on teenage angst and antics rather than character or plot, which is what I'm most interested in when I sit down to read a book. As mentioned, this author does a good job of convincingly and realistically conveying teenage emotions and activities, but she somehow fails to create well-rounded, convincing individuals that a reader can really get to know and become invested in.

I also felt like this book dragged. I actually almost stopped reading this book about 1/3 of the way through because nothing had happened yet, which is a big deal for me because I don't believe in giving up on books. I really only finished this because I had nothing else to do at the time. The pacing of this book is just really slow, making even the climax and resolution fall flat, and the focus is more on Max dealing with the issues at hand as opposed to figuring out how to solve the problems. This made for an okay but not super engaging or exciting story, which is a shame because it is a really interesting premise. I was also disappointed by the ending because it does not really have any kind of resolution, but more of a temporary solution with a faint hint at blind hope that maybe things could possibly maybe change but probably not. Really disappointing.

Warnings (on a scale of 1-5):

Sexual/Body: 2 This story focuses on a bunch of fifteen-year-old boys, so it is not surprising that there are some comments made about boys checking out or discussing girls' bodies, but it is kept relatively tame and mostly just shows up in the first half of the book, likely as a contrast to the events that happen in the second half.

Gay/Lesbian: 2 For some reason, this author mentions and focuses on the boys being, pretending to be, or denying being gay even though it has absolutely nothing to do with the story. I suppose it was, again, used to create a contrast between before and after, but I personally don't believe teenage boys think or talk about it as often as this author makes them out to do.

Language: 3 The language used in this book is not excessive, but the words used are rather intense.(less)

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Jul 28, 2012 Kathy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-july-2012

I rather enjoyed this book about Max and his friends. They live in New Middletown, a company town of the great chemical company, Chemrose. Chemrose has developed a new shot that creates incredibly obedient, well behaved children. True, it's still rather experimental, but all the adults seem determined to believe it's the best thing since sliced bread. It intrieged me to see the early developement of a society, like that in BRAVE NEW WORLD or THIS PERFECT DAY, that so relied on its citizens takin...more

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Jul 13, 2012 Susan Raber rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: yalsa-top-10-reviews

In a world that doesn’t seem too far removed from our own, Max, along with his mother and little sister, deal with class warfare, infertility, genetic screening and manipulation, the aftermath of a flu epidemic, and behavior modification with pharmaceuticals. Not to shabby for a novel of only 300 pages. This could have easily become a ‘kitchen sink’ story, but these issues are related and woven together effectively, so I didn’t feel bombarded with controversial topics.

Max is a ‘best-of-three’, w...more In a world that doesn’t seem too far removed from our own, Max, along with his mother and little sister, deal with class warfare, infertility, genetic screening and manipulation, the aftermath of a flu epidemic, and behavior modification with pharmaceuticals. Not to shabby for a novel of only 300 pages. This could have easily become a ‘kitchen sink’ story, but these issues are related and woven together effectively, so I didn’t feel bombarded with controversial topics.

Max is a ‘best-of-three’, which means his parents were able to screen three embryos and choose which one was most desirable. However, his little sister Ally is a ‘freebie’, and this is reflected in her innocence and simplicity. Only the wealthy can afford to keep trying for an ‘ultimate’. After the death of his father in the flu epidemic, Max’s family lands squarely in lower-middle class bracket, a place in the community Max is not accustomed to occupying.

They live in New Middletown, a corporation-owned city, and an attempt at a utopian society. Which usually means you’ve got the exact opposite of what you are trying to achieve.

Max has to compete at school with the ultimates- junior gods and goddesses- and since he is a passionate, artistic, and emotional young man, he gets into more than his fair share of fights, both verbal and physical. To his credit, he is fiercely loyal and protective of his friends, and he defends them to his own hurt. At one point he even takes a steak knife to school, anticipating a confrontation with a particularly unpleasant classmate.

For entertainment, Max and his friends use the futuristic equivalent of an iPad, called RIGs- Realtime Integrated Gateway. They regularly watch Freakshow, which is a reality series based on Freaktown, a city populated with people suffering from major birth defects from a chemical spill. Foreshadowing is provided by the mention of movies with a similar theme- Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Stepford Wives, and 1984.

Max cares deeply for Ally, and while walking her to school every day, notices subtle changes in the behavior of the kids on the playground. The younger children are waiting calmly by the doors, while the rest are throwing balls and running around, exasperating the supervisors. Ally expresses her concern that some of her friends are “fuzzy” and “slow”.

I was pleasantly surprised to read about a mother as more than a footnote character. She is a widow with few resources, determined that her children will receive the best education she can afford to provide them. As with many modern working mothers, this means her children are often left to themselves. In the beginning of the story she seems rather uninvolved, but she listens to their problems and anxieties without dismissing them. Later, when her children are in peril, she steps up to protect them, regardless of the cost. This sets her apart from many of the other parents in this story, who are all too glad to see their children drugged into submission.

As I was reading, the thought occurred to me that quite often in stories involving a push towards submission and conformity by an overbearing authority, a false dichotomy is erected for the hero to tear down with his courageous individuality. The opposite of submission is rebellion, not creativity. A person can be even-tempered, productive, and hard-working, as well as joyful, innovative, and unique.

However, Max does eventually see that the boisterous expressions of his ‘individuality’ actually did have a cost- one that he himself did not have to pay. He was highly gifted, and could easily do homework assignments and pass tests with half his brain tied behind his back. Other classmates, while intelligent, did not have this knack, and if they did not receive the attention and instruction they needed, could end up in a trade school. His theft of art materials and vandalization of the school cost time and money, and made the Nesting program look very attractive to an administration tired of dealing with unruly children like Max. When Max turns his artistic talents in a more legitimate direction, he finds that art is a powerful medium, even a beacon of hope.(less)

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Jun 16, 2012 Mika rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: ahh-sigh-yay, delicious-bastard-is-delicious, gross-sobbing, fuck-you-you-fucking-fuck, heart-wrenching-prowess, hearts-lots-and-lots-of-hearts, homosexuals-r-us, i-need-more, i-would-like-to-call-this-my-baby, irritating-motherfucking-asshats, me-gusta-tu-cara, most-beautiful-in-the-milky-way, oh-my-fucking-god-that-cover-shines, sexy-sexy-oh-so-sexy, stereotypical-motherfuckers, the-expected-unexpected-surprises, throws-book-across-the-room, what-just-happened, you-good-sir-are-an-idiot, why-does-it-hurt-so-much

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. SOB SOB SOB HYSTERIC SOB.

Many, many times during this book, I found myself on the verge of tears, for some fucking reason. It wasn't even meant to be quite so...heartbreaking, but for me it was. God, all the little things just tore me up into pieces. When Dallas was being an ass, when Tyler died, when Xavier got his shot and became a zombie just like the rest of them -- these were the main things that made me just want to curl up in a corner, clutching the book to my breasts, crying and slobberi...more SOB SOB SOB HYSTERIC SOB.

Many, many times during this book, I found myself on the verge of tears, for some fucking reason. It wasn't even meant to be quite so...heartbreaking, but for me it was. God, all the little things just tore me up into pieces. When Dallas was being an ass, when Tyler died, when Xavier got his shot and became a zombie just like the rest of them -- these were the main things that made me just want to curl up in a corner, clutching the book to my breasts, crying and slobbering and screaming to the Heavens for being so unfair.

I'm a bit dramatic.

At first, I didn't like it. Well, I mean I did, of course I did, I mean come on the beginning, but I wanted to read another book by a guy, I'm in a Male Author phase, and Maxwell didn't seem all that boyish to me, the way he thought things. I mean, he acted like a guy enough, I 'spose, but....I was basically just being a whiny bitchy asswipe because I wanted to read a male POV written by a male author. But, I digress, this book was regardless very good and got me over my tantrum of Stuck Up Bitch.

The students were very realistic. I could relate to them, and laugh with him, and snort at them, because my school was almost exactly like that. Minus the fighting; we didn't have very many brawls go on in our Good Ol' Idiot School, but the kids were still very real. And after a bit Max's mom did prove herself not to be quite a stereotypical mom -- I mean come on, in every book I read, you could swap the mothers and you'd basically have no motherfucking difference -- but she still was a bit ... obvious, and like all those other Book Moms.

My favourite character was Xavier, which sucks ass, and then I really liked Tyler, and the things that happened to them really hit me hard. I also liked Austin a lot, but, whatever.

And the whole going to Canada thing... I was thinking -- but they know that Dallas dressed up as their dad, so wouldn't they follow them over the border when the fake ID showed up? I mean, it would take them awhile for Celeste to tell them, but they would connect the dots, find out the family went to Canada, and they would know about Max's Mom's niece... Maybe I am just not a Believer. Maybe I am just a pessimist. Maybe I should shut the fuck up, but that's just what I was thinking.

Besides that, after getting over my initial skepticism, this book was brilliant. And Dallas and Maxwell should be fuck-buddies. Aherm.(less)

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May 14, 2012 Pat Schwartz rated it 4 of 5 stars

A chilling tale of how a simple idea can take on monstrous proportions. The USA has become a corporate Max, his mother and Ally, his baby sister, are out town when the schools implement a new vaccine. Ally is the first to see that something is different about her classmates. They no longer skip and play, laugh or skirmish. They stand in neat straight lines. No talking, no pushing, no fighting to be first in line. They are perfectly obedient robots, Max calls them zombies. When Max’s class is vac...more

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Feb 17, 2012 Hylary Locsin rated it 1 of 5 stars

Originally posted on my blog: http://libraryladyhylary.blogspot.com ! Check it out for more reviews!

In the not-too-distant future, rebellious teen Max Connors lives in the city of New Middleton, one of the many planned communities designed to ensure prosperity and happiness for its residents. Succeeding in New Middleton, however, depends on a lot of factors: wealth, status, and genetic makeup. Children born without any kind of genetic treatment are looked down upon; those of higher status having...more Originally posted on my blog: http://libraryladyhylary.blogspot.com ! Check it out for more reviews!

In the not-too-distant future, rebellious teen Max Connors lives in the city of New Middleton, one of the many planned communities designed to ensure prosperity and happiness for its residents. Succeeding in New Middleton, however, depends on a lot of factors: wealth, status, and genetic makeup. Children born without any kind of genetic treatment are looked down upon; those of higher status having been created using the best embryos provided by their parents. After his father’s death, Max, his mother and his six-year-old sister, Ally, left their large New Middleton mansion for an apartment. Although their prestige has gone down, Max and Ally are still lucky enough to attend academic school, something their mom works hard to pay for, that will ensure their future success in the working world. Although he has always been more interested in painting and hanging out with his friends than in his schoolwork, Max becomes suspicious when he notices the children at Ally’s school behaving strangely. Instead of running around like most six-year-olds, Ally’s classmates are rigid, standing in straight lines, following orders and speaking in short, rehearsed sounding phrases. As the weeks pass, this behavior seems to travel upward by grade level, and Max eventually realizes that a new educational program called Nesting is causing his classmates to be turned into complacent drones, devoid of initiative or feeling. Max’s mother manages to prevent Max or Ally from receiving the initial treatment, but how long can the Connors family pretend to be normal in a world where standing out has become a crime?

Although it contains some interesting ideas, All Good Children, unfortunately, is not intriguing enough to shine in the sea of dystopian literature available for teens. The concept of conformity is one often explored in young adult novels. Many dystopian stories toy with varying degrees of forced complacency, and All Good Children engages in this as well. The Nesting concept is, arguably, the most interesting part of the novel when viewed as an allegory for the state of education in America and its reliance on things like standardized testing, etc. Nesting is described as making children easy to educate because they are all the same. Class sizes can be increased to 50 students per teacher, grades improve, and everyone is happy. Unfortunately, it’s unlikely that this allegory was the author’s goal in writing this novel for a young adult audience. When viewed simply as a dystopian novel, All Good Children is lacking in terms of pacing, character development, and overall execution. Parts of the plot were completely unbelievable as well, making the story too far-fetched to be relatable. If the author’s goal was to make a statement about education in the present day, this is not evident enough to be effective. Overall, All Good Children is a novel with a lot of promise that, ultimately, falls flat.

I had high hopes for this novel, but, sadly, found myself disappointed. The concept of Nesting was interesting, but not enough to keep my attention, let alone that of a teen or tween reader. In terms of dystopian novels that feature conformity as a main topic, there are many better options available. I think that the author has some good ideas, and hope that her next novel is effective at bringing them to life in an enjoyable way.
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Jan 12, 2012 Halli Lilburn rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

Best Book of 2011: All Good Children by Catherine Austen
New Middleton’s children are becoming frightfully obedient and their parents and teachers couldn’t be happier. Something is wrong. Max, our delinquent yet loveable rebel cannot allow himself to become another zombie and he’ll do anything to prevent it.
All teens have got issues, but within their brains amazing things happen. Mood swings and rebellion are accompanied with creativity and innovation. This book describes the thoughts and feeling...more

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Oct 10, 2011 Jasmyn9 rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc, fiction, young-adult, distopia

Max, Ally and his mother live in a city called Middleton. Middleton is one of the few places left in the US with a decent school system, safe streets, healthy people, and little crime. But the administrators of Middleton think it could be even better. What if they found a way to get rid of misbehavior in children. Now, we're not talking about just the big ones like arson and fighting, but even the little ones, like giggling in class and expressing an opinion. As this is slowly taking effect on t...more

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Sep 29, 2011 Christina Vasilevski rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: canadian-authors, young-adult, dystopian, bechdel-test

I bought this book about a week before the official release date because the author took part in Toronto's Word on the Street festival. Her reading of some of the opening text in conjunction with her explanation of how, after writing children's books for many years, she realized she was a closet dystopian fiction junkie sold me on the book.

Max is a gifted but rambunctious teenager living in one of the few safe havens after an unspecified economic and ecologic collapse in the 20th Century. Now, m...more I bought this book about a week before the official release date because the author took part in Toronto's Word on the Street festival. Her reading of some of the opening text in conjunction with her explanation of how, after writing children's books for many years, she realized she was a closet dystopian fiction junkie sold me on the book.

Max is a gifted but rambunctious teenager living in one of the few safe havens after an unspecified economic and ecologic collapse in the 20th Century. Now, most men are infertile, phrases like "going the extra mile" are outmoded because gasoline is so sparse, and most people live in squalor outside of a few cities that act as corporate enclaves. Like his peers, Max acts rowdy in class, wisecracks, and generally has a feeling of entitlement because of his education and class background, although he feels insecure about his mother's lowly status as a nurse for the infirm at a giant retirement home.

However, something strange happens. All of the children in his town begin to change. They are now lifeless. Dull. Grey. Obedient. It's all because of a "motivational learning" technique called the New Education Support Treatment, or "nesting" for short. As Max sees the consequences of this, he realizes he must find a way to save his family and friends from this fate.

One of this novel's greatest strengths is that it creates a plausible and problematic vision of the future and finds a way out that is equally plausible. You won't get the violence and improbable underground revolution of Katniss and co. from the "Hunger Games" trilogy. But you will get something more insidious. Also, while I found the first-person present-tense point of view in the "Hunger Games" trilogy to be grating and distracting, the same style of narration is used to much better, and more seamless, effect in "All Good Children."

A final note: this book is well-produced and packaged. The cover uses a colour scheme that is simultaneously intriguing and forboding, and the choice of that elongated and spindly typeface for the title, back cover pull quote, and chapter headings really nails down the emotions inside the book - the children are so drugged into submission that even their handwriting becomes both elegant and menacing.(less)

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Oct 10, 2012 Sheri rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: kid-young-adult, coming-of-age, poverty-class-issues

This is a dystopian futuristic novel about mind control. It evokes some thoughts of Nazi Germany (how can the adults just go along with things and not protest) and underground railroad slave issues. It is entertaining and compelling for young readers.

Despite some minor inconsistencies (they are in an academic school that doesn't care about football and so there is no money spent on the sport...but they get Friday afternoons off before the game?; Ally who is supposed to be dumb figures out the v...more

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Aug 15, 2012 Jen rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-dysotopian, books-that-suck

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Oct 30, 2012 Hollowspine rated it 4 of 5 stars

All good children should do their best at all times, they should do what their parents and teachers tell them they must. They should be grateful for the opportunities given to them, and not waste their time engaging in inappropriate behaviors.

Even in a school of children genetically determined to do well, the students aren't perfect. Or at least, not enough to avoid getting vaccinated against free thought. Max, one of the students of the Academic School (for kids whose parents have money), first...more All good children should do their best at all times, they should do what their parents and teachers tell them they must. They should be grateful for the opportunities given to them, and not waste their time engaging in inappropriate behaviors.

Even in a school of children genetically determined to do well, the students aren't perfect. Or at least, not enough to avoid getting vaccinated against free thought. Max, one of the students of the Academic School (for kids whose parents have money), first starts noticing the change when his sister's elementary school suddenly lose interest in playing, being friends, or doing anything that they haven't been told to do.

Max watches in horror as more and more children are subjected to the treatment, and he knows that his grade is next in line. Will he be able to convince others that NESTing is a bad thing, especially when it makes so many adults lives easier?

I found this novel to be extremely frightening. In the beginning we get a picture of a very plausible future America. Kids spend most of their time watching their RIGs, (just the next step of the smartphones or tablets we already have), fuel has become so expensive that most people don't own cars, and toxic spills and epidemics have either wiped out or deformed a large portion of the population.

Next kids start turning into 'zombies.' They respond to trained cues and give rote answers, such as, "All my classmates are my friends." "I look forward to a career that best uses my skills." They are quick to report any inappropriate behavior to authority figures. It seems that a new vaccination has been introduced by Chemrose, and instituted in schools across the nation. It helps kids to do better in school and reduces the demand on teachers and money/time spent on trouble-makers and those with mood disorders.

The real frightening thing about this is that I can see how people could get sucked into this, I feel like I already know people who would read this book and think to themselves, "Kids these days are so vulgar and disrespectful, this could be a good idea!" Of course they'd be sure to stipulate that they'd do better drug trials and tests to make sure there weren't side effects as there were in the book.

Just tonight I had a few adults at the library complaining about how noisy the children were, and that in their day libraries were quiet. I've also noticed other reviews of the book pointing out that Max was beating people up, painting graffiti (using stolen paint), and ogling girls, and deserved what was coming to him. This makes this dystopian novel almost to close to reality to be called a dystopia...unless we are currently living in one.

Overall, I felt the novel had a very good concept, and followed up with interesting characters and good writing. Well worth the few hours it takes to read.

I would note, however, that the author is Canadian, writing about the terrible future America, and of course the future Canada is much better. Hm.(less)

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Dec 22, 2011 Karen rated it 4 of 5 stars

I loved this book! From the minute I picked it up I just wanted to keep reading.

This is a dystopian novel about a family that lives in a well to do community. But with living in a well to do community comes with a price and that price is the 'vaccinations' the schools start giving to the students...but for what, do you ask?

Well, you tell me...Soon after getting these vaccines the students lose all emotion and personality. All of a sudden they are well behaved and say exactly the right thing. But...more

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Feb 03, 2013 Deborah rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: dystopia, young-adult

In the future a great divide exists between the rich and the poor, the city-dwellers and the outsiders; a universal ID, checkpoints, and surveillance cameras are everywhere. Headstrong Max and his little sister, Ally, return from burying their grandmother to start the beginning school year late. As Max drops Ally off at school the first day back, he notices that Ally's kindergartner classmates are unusually well-behaved and calm at morning recess. He soon finds out that the students received a v...more

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Dec 17, 2011 Shelley Daugherty rated it 2 of 5 stars

Maxwell Connors lives in New Middletown in the future. The United States has become divided and he lives in the better part of this world where education is still possible, and freedom comes at a premium. There are security cameras everywhere to keep track of all the citizens of Middletown and the school is no exception. But keeping watch over the citizens is the least of the ideas in this town; the powers-that-be want complete control...mind control.

Max first notices the strange behavior of the...more

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Jan 18, 2013 Brian rated it 4 of 5 stars

well, i had no idea what this book was when i started it and figured it would be one that i read the first few pages and then delete it. thats right, i kind of almost actually read this book! (i read it on the kindle instead of audiobook that has been the recent rage.)

anyway, it was pretty gripping. i dont recall what year it was set it, but the future outlook of a united states that has devolved into fiefdom's based around geriatric centers and corporations seems plausible. walled communities w...more

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Dec 20, 2011 Sandra Stiles rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: dystopian

In the town of New Middletown things aren't what they seem. The children have undergone "The New Education Support Treatment". Now the kids are obedient. If I can say this, they are too obedient". My husband laughed when I told him I had a few students that could use a little bit of the treatment. Max comes across as quite rebellious at times. I was reminded (due to my advanced age) of the movie "The Stepford Wives". If you are too young to remember this movie then I would suggest you look it up...more

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Feb 23, 2013 Suzanne rated it 5 of 5 stars

Wow! How did I miss this book last year? Someone commented that it was just a teen version of "Stepford Wives", and with the glut of dystopian fiction we've had, I kind of dismissed it. It reminds me of 'Little Brother' but without the preachy and extremely technical parts.

I love that the mom is in on the plan to avoid being 'zombified', and I really liked all the teen hijinks at school. I also really liked that the main character persisted in making art that was authentic, rather than pander t...more

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Jan 16, 2013 Lina rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya

Oh how I like me some interesting Dystopian fiction. I like it even more when said Dystopia is caused by chemical corporations. And Catherine Austen gets double points for the portrayal of a teenage boy that well, feels like a teenage boy.

But I get ahead of myself. Maxwell Connors lives in New Middletown with his mother and sister. New Middletown is centered around Old folk homes, which are big business in the future. Built, owned and managed by Chemrose. The people who live in New Middletown ar...more Oh how I like me some interesting Dystopian fiction. I like it even more when said Dystopia is caused by chemical corporations. And Catherine Austen gets double points for the portrayal of a teenage boy that well, feels like a teenage boy.

But I get ahead of myself. Maxwell Connors lives in New Middletown with his mother and sister. New Middletown is centered around Old folk homes, which are big business in the future. Built, owned and managed by Chemrose. The people who live in New Middletown are all employed by the corporation. Their children go to schools run by the corporation. And everybody, whether living in a large house or a small apartment, pay rent to the corporation. Maxwell and his little sister, Ally, miss the first week of school due to their aunt’s death. When they get back, they notice that the kids in Ally’s class are acting weird. They no longer play, scream, or even fight. Most terrifying of all, they are perfectly behaved and worse, it is spreading.

In her acknowledgments, Austen quips that she, “did not intend to write this as George and Harold Meet Teen Zombie Nerds in Stepford.” That pretty much sums it up. Max and his friend Dallas jump off the page as real teenage boys. Not too sensitive, not perfect with the overwhelming need to do stupid things. Yet Max loves his sister. He works hard at school despite his ‘tude and is obsessed with art, a love which he honed through illegally “decorating” the buildings in his neighborhood.

I don’t want to give too much away, but at one point Max and his friend put two and two together and realise what is going on with the younger kids and that they are going to be next. The struggle to hold on to their identity in a sea of friends-turned-zombies is both moving and terrifying. Austen grows this tension until it reaches an insane pitch.

The world she builds is also rich with detail. It is the world how it might be in a few years- where it works pretty much the same- the opening scene has Maxwell being frisked by an airport security guard. But the uniformity, the disparity between those allowed to live in the city and the those who are not, the hierarchy created by those who can afford the best genes for their children and those who can’t all ring prophetic. Austen takes not only at the environmental devastation caused by the large chemical corporations (there is a city on the banks of the St. Lawrence that has been turned into Freaktown because of a chemical spill), but she also takes aim at our current education system and the whole idea of streaming our children. These aspects might be exaggerated in All Good Children but they are still very identifiable.

My only quibble with the book would be the abrupt ending. Austen slowly grows the tension until the reader is vibrating with it, but then never tones it down. I would have liked a slower descent to match the slow ascent.

Still, an excellent read for those who liked the Hunger Games, Matched, The Maze Runner, and well, all the other dystopian lit out there. It also won the Sunburst prize for speculative fiction as well as the CLA award for Young Adult fiction, just in case you need a gold sticker on the cover to appreciate a book.(less)

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Jul 25, 2012 Miz Lizzie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: african-american, bioengineering, friendship, families, guysread, immigration, canada, medicine, science-fiction, siblings, usa, young-adult

This dystopian novel by a Canadian author (and 2012 Teen Top Ten nominated book) is set in a near-future America where a walled corporate-run town and paranoid news and media have led people to be more than willing to drug their children into obedience in order to ensure their future or so they believe. Maxwell Connors is a bright, smart alec, trouble-maker who suspects something rotten when the required NESTing innoculations start transforming regular kids into dull easily-conformable automaton...more

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Dec 05, 2012 Caitlin rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorite-ya, young-adult

I was expecting a fairly standard dystopian YA novel when I picked this one up but man was I surprised! All Good Children centers around Max Connors, living in a walled, secure town called New Middletown in a United States controlled by corporations. The safety of New Middletown is all that Max has ever known but then the schools start a new program called New Education Support Treatment, or nesting. Kids are given immunizations that turn them into perfect, obedient children a la Stepford Wives....more

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Feb 17, 2012 Tanya rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2012, ya-reads

All Good Children envisions a part of the United States where you are watched constantly. Everyone has a RIG that can enable you to record, view, and communicate instantly with people all over. The adults have figured out a way to make the elderly and children compliant. They NEST them, a "vaccination" that turns them into complacent beings. Max Connors and his family return home from a funeral while the youngest are getting their shots. His little sister first notices the changes in her classma...more

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Dec 08, 2011 Gmr rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: young adult fiction fans

Recommended to Gmr by: LibraryThing

Can you imagine? A world where creativity is frowned upon and everyone is expected to simply line up, take their assignment and live life as they are told? Nah...never happen...right? I wouldn't be so sure. The world introduced by Ms. Austen isn't so far fetched. I mean, there are advantages to what they were trying to introduce....a more manageable society with potentially less crime and people living up to their supposed potentials. Not so bad.....well, except for that "supposed" part. I mean,...more Can you imagine? A world where creativity is frowned upon and everyone is expected to simply line up, take their assignment and live life as they are told? Nah...never happen...right? I wouldn't be so sure. The world introduced by Ms. Austen isn't so far fetched. I mean, there are advantages to what they were trying to introduce....a more manageable society with potentially less crime and people living up to their supposed potentials. Not so bad.....well, except for that "supposed" part. I mean, whose to say what anyone is truly capable of achieving, good or bad, throughout the course of their natural life....but I for one would rather live in a world that the option to find out exists, as would Max.

Max is not your typical "hero" in any sense of the word. He is simply a young man trying to find himself that expresses his frustrations and beliefs through his creative side, for better or worse. In this society, art is viewed more as a "worse". The freedom of expression that lies within its unframed borders is a scary prospect to the powers that be. I mean, if you're going to create a robot like civilization, you can't very well have people thinking for themselves....it'd never work; hence the battle begins for both our free will and our very lives.

The storyline here is not merely that of our wills or freedom of speech though....it also has undercurrents of racism, prejudice, and discrimination. It's amazing how such a forward thinking group of people can have such backwards thoughts about human kind as a whole....a fact which is addressed rather tactfully as events progress. Over half of the population can't read or write....how scary is that? Again though, how far is it from the truth depending on where you look today? It's not all doom and gloom though as the author injects a bit of real life humor into the story with the personalities given to each character as well as how they act out from time to time.

In short, a fictional look at a reality that may not be so far away with the possible repercussions we could face should the same steps of "progress" be taken. It's enjoyable from a make believe stand point, but also gives you something to really think about. We are so dependent on technology as a civilization and expect things to go just so....how much of a leap is it really to a time when we dictate the path that others must follow in their lives for the sake of smooth sailing?(less)

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Jun 02, 2012 Zanib rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favourites

Honestly, my review will do this book no justice. In fact, I should have written this review a long time ago, just never got around to it. Which is weird because I loved this book. Now, I'm not talking about the liked, love. I'm talking about the loved, loved. It is one of those novels that will bring tears to your eyes because of its ferocious writing style. Its power dripping in all the words, and oh, all the emotions. You guys noticing how I'm using all the italics? I can't emphasise my point...more

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Mar 06, 2013 Katherine rated it 2 of 5 stars

Ok premise. As a teacher, I thought it was interesting how close some of the strategies to economize education used in the book as futuristic and dystopian actually came to what is going on in education right now. But the plot was too predictable. Xavier was an engaging character, but he just faded away as the story progressed. I think he would have made a better protagonist. Also, I felt the beginning too slow and the ending too rushed. This was 600 pages, and could have been better paced. Max'...more

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Jun 19, 2012 Natalie Cheetham rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: gstba-2013

Teenager Max Connors watches as grade by grade, the students of New Middletown are changing...and not for the better. Children are no longer behaving like children, but more like mindless, obedient zombies. Due to the quick thinking of his nurse mother, Max and his best friend, Dallas, manage to avoid the initial round of vaccinations, but how long can they keep up the act. If they can make it, how far will they need to go to escape their fate.

After reading the review of this book in several jou...more

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About Catherine Austen

I grew up in Kingston, Ontario. I studied political science at Queen's University and environmental studies at York before moving to the Ottawa area to work in the conservation movement. I now write freelance (reports as well as books) from my home in Quebec, where I live with my husband and two sons. I love wildlife, music, museums, and books and I'm grateful that my life is full of all of these....more

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“...it saddens me that she has to grow up and make friends with humans. I hear the future coming for her. Stomp, stomp, stomp.” — 2 people liked it

“I can do it, Max. I still have my thoughts. I just can't say them out loud. I still have my friends. I just can't show them. I still have all the things that used to matter. They're inside of me. They can't take that away.” — 2 people liked it

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