41. The Record Keeper by Agnes Gomillion
A dystopian novel. Set after World War 3 has rendered most of the world uninhabitable, the remnants of humanity are living in what was once America. Following the Niagara Compromise, humanity is split between racial lines, with the (white) English in the north, the (black) Kongo in the south, and the Clayskins in the middle.
The Kongo are, essentially, slaves, doing all the backbreaking manual agricultural work and getting most of their minds wiped every year with Rebirth pills.
Arika has been selected to train as a record keeper (the Kongo elite), and after having had the spirit brutally beaten out of her as a small child, is on the verge of graduating, with a chance of becoming the Kongo representative in the government.
But things start to change when a new student who holds dangerous views arrives, leading Arika to question the way her society works.
It’s okay - there’s a lot of world building and the move towards revolution feels a bit squashed in at the end of the book, but there is a sequel due.
42. Charlotte Sometimes by Penelope Farmer
A re-read of this children’s classic.
Charlotte goes off to boarding school, and finds that somehow, every night, she switches places with another schoolgirl, Clare, in 1918.
It’s an enjoyable read.
Like a pp, I’d forgotten that this was set during the flu pandemic, although for the most part, this is a backdrop to the story.