I could use this book as an individual read for older students as an introduction to a unit on modern fantasy literature. Students would have to keep a journal of their thoughts and connections as they read the book. I could use this book as a read aloud for sixth through eight graders to direct plot and practice inferencing and foreshadowing. It could be read with the warm up each class period.

Will and Berk, twin sons of Hayli, the Compassionate Director of the Dominion of the Americas, are sent on separate missions as new government interns. Their father is the founder of The Goodness, a movement to save humanity in the aftermath of environmental disaster following nuclear catastrophe and a plague, and they are seeing the program in action among the people as they prepare to become the Director’s successors.

However, Will soon discovers the imperfectness of The Goodness, the dictatorship of his father, and the truth surrounding his own life. What will this mean for his future, for his own continued existence in a world where the euthanasia of Compassionate Removal holds sway?

Readers in grades six through ten may find slow pace of this young adult story discouraging, but plot twists and a resolute, albeit predictable conclusion, is both moving and compelling, giving readers much to ponder in the human, medical, and environmental issues related in the narrative. ( )