Remake

Remake is an upcoming dystopian novel by Ilima Todd. The book is certain to be controversial, which is the entire purpose of it. It is a book with a message and people will take different sides in regard to it. Others will miss the message completely and will not be able to see past the storyline. I, for one, found the book to be engaging and the message to be powerful.

The book follows a character who simply goes by Nine. She is the ninth person in a batch of ten females. There are an equal number of males with her batch. For seventeen years they are raised together androgynously and on their 17^th Birthday they go to a Remake facility. At this facility, they get to choose what they want to look like, what trade they will do for the rest of their lives, and what gender they would like to be.

Nine has only known this lifestyle in the city they live in called Freedom One. Everybody can do whatever they want with no consequences. There is no morality. Nightclubs with their accompanying patrons are frequent. Words like marriage, family, father, mother, etc. are not a part of their vocabulary.

However, Nine’s world changes completely when their plane crashes on its way to the remake facility. She ends up stranded on an island where she discovers a colony of rebels—rebels only because they believe in family. On the island, Nine learns about the corruption within Freedom One, and the many other Freedom cities around the world. They absolutely forbid families and do all they can to prevent them. Nine learns the value of families for herself and ultimately needs to decide whose side she will support.

This book does not beat around the bush. It clearly talks about the sacredness of marriage, physical intimacy, and the crucial roles of each gender. The author teaches these principles with contrasts, showing a distorted version in Freedom One, and then later showing the true principles found in the island colony. Readers that can’t see past the corruption of Freedom One miss the entire point of the book and its message. Our society is currently heading toward the same society of Freedom One. If we are to avoid such a future, we must stay true to the values found in the islanders’ colony.

I personally look forward to the next book.