Meri's world, a future Chicago, is as close to a utopia as any city has ever been. Everyone and everything is safe. There is no poverty and very little crime. The environment has been preserved, partly by getting rid of paper. All communications are done electronically. Miri believes everything she hears on the three TV channels that have been provided by the government. What else is needed? Citizens are paid for turning in any books or paper they find and must pay a tax to use paper for anything. It is much better for the environment--or at least that's what they want you to think.
Since Meri's mother died in a freak accident, Meri's father has pretty much checked out. Meri meets some people who don't necessarily think the world is a better place at all. In fact, they are convinced the government is controlling everything you see and hear. But is that such a bad thing? Look how happy everyone is. But is everyone really happy? Meri wants to find out why her mother died and why she had become so distant in the last weeks before her death, so she begins to question everything she has believed.
Think about a world without paper. No books. Everything online. If someone were controlling what is released online, what is to stop them from eliminating words (such as "Verify") from the dictionary? Or entire chapters from textbooks. Or entire books.
If you are interested in relationships, it seems there might be a romance developing, but in no way does this relationship take away from the story. We'll have to see about this in future installments. (Something to look forward to.) The characters are interesting and the situations eye-opening. Verify has been compared to Fahrenheit 451 and 1984 and would be a great addition to any curriculum studying those texts.
Things are not all they seem in Meri's world, and she is in for a rude awakening. The tension mounts nicely as we reach the conclusion. I got through this one very quickly. And, sure to be a series, Verify leaves the reader wanting more! Charbonneau certainly has another winner in Verify.
Published by HarperTeen, September 24, 2019
eARC obtained from Edelweiss
320 pages
Rating: 5/5
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