Nomansland

Gr 7 Up—Keller is a teenage tracker-in-training in a future dystopia where no men are allowed. All vanity has been abolished, and even friendships are forbidden. Keller is alienated and, at first, mildly dissatisfied with her hardscrabble existence. She and her fellow novices find a buried tract house from the time before, and discover makeup, fashion magazines, and flattering clothing. Meanwhile, their elders are hot on the trail of this discovery, as objects from the time before are coveted as talismans of power. And that's about it—the plot is dry and eventless. Hauge is a fine writer and has a light hand with minor characters, and the nasty ones are especially well wrought. The sober, economical prose sets a steady pace and dismal mood. However, Keller's arc from discomfort to rebelliousness is more show than tell. Unfortunately, this stock combination of Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale (Random, 1989) and Lois Lowry's The Giver (Houghton, 1993) isn't half as emotionally affecting as either novel. In fact, the dystopian stereotypes—bad weather, possible Others beyond the borders, colorless everything—dilute an otherwise fine narrative. No amount of solid prose can save this book from itself. Teens waiting for Suzanne Collins's Mockingjay (Scholastic, 2010) won't find much distraction here.—Johanna Lewis, New York Public Library

Keller's all-female society defends itself against male intrusion. The girls in her Patrol shun affection and friendship, but their obedience fails when they find relics of the "Old People" (e.g., fashion magazines, makeup); their excitement ends in death and disaster. In Hauge's novel, written in a first-person present-tense voice, Keller is a convincingly complex heroine, independent-minded and cautious, suspicious and brave.