What's the Name of That Book??? discussion
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Books about: Children raised in isolation as part of an experiment
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Rainbowheart wrote: "Can anyone think of novels where children are raised in isolation from society as part of some kind of experiment?I was thinking mostly of social experiments, but medical or scientific experiment..."
Not total isolation, but there's Running Out of Time by Margaret Petersen Haddix, which has a girl finding out that their parents signed them up to live like it's the 1700's, and none of the kids in their tiny "village" know.
Running Out of Time
There's also This Is Not the Jess Show, which is basically the Truman Show with a teen girl protagonist.
This Is Not the Jess Show
Thanks, Jessica. I hadn't thought of those, but good ideas. And thanks, Eric. The Institute has an interesting premise.
Some more I came across!
Inspection
City of Glass
Problem Island
Knowledge of Angels
The Maximum Ride books by James Patterson actually start out with the group of kids breaking out of the lab they have always lived in. It's a bit of a stretch from what you're looking for: the point of the experiment wasn't to isolate them, they just happened to be isolated because of it.
That one is a little far afield, I think, but thank you for mentioning it!
Paul Jennings has a compilation of a few stories in the book Quirky Tales (couldnt find it here) Anyway one of them is called "No is Yes" and its really good with an ending that sends you into an "inception"-like spiral
Rainbowheart wrote: "Can anyone think of novels where children are raised in isolation from society as part of some kind of experiment?I was thinking mostly of social experiments, but medical or scientific experiment..."
William Sleator's House of Stairs is of that variety. The kids are older (16, I think), but are isolated for the sake of experiment. It has a seriously weird vibe, like all of Sleator's stuff.
This probably isn't too much of a spoiler, but I'm going to place a spoiler warning on it just out of an abundance of caution. (view spoiler)
Might find some within this list, scientific experiments.https://www.librarything.com/list/640...
In the fantasy story within a story in R, My Name Is Rosie by Barbara Cohen, a girl was raised alone in a tower except for an unseen voice.
Would this count? Science fiction.
The Keeper of the Isis Light by Monica Hughes.
Not sure if this counts but she is alone except for a furry guardian.
Alien child by Pamela Sargent. https://www.librarything.com/work/372...
The Trap (also known as "The First Men") by Howard Fast The Hunter and the Trap: Two Stories of Speculative Fiction
How about The Mysterious Benedict Society? Not the Mysterious Benedict Society themselves, but the children in the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened.
This Mortal Coil and it’s following books is a series in this vein!
What's the Name of That Book???
Books mentioned in this topic
The Mysterious Benedict Society (other topics)What Mother Won't Tell Me (other topics)
The Hunter and the Trap: Two Stories of Speculative Fiction (other topics)
The Keeper of the Isis Light (other topics)
R, My Name Is Rosie (other topics)
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I was thinking mostly of social experiments, but medical or scientific experiments are ok, too. It doesn't matter if it's one child or a small group of children, just that they're raised apart from society for the specific purpose of conducting an experiment.
A few examples of books of this type would be The Dumb House, The Mannequin Makers, and Perfect Little World.
I feel sure there must be more out there. Thanks mucho for any help!