Author: Chris Wooding
Release date: September 10, 2012
Published by: Stoke Books
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Jed hates all Pales. Pales are those people who are brought back from the dead by the Lazurus Serum. Pales live in the run-down part of town and are ostracized by society. Jed would never want to be turned into a Pale—he would rather be dead. But one day, an accident changes Jed’s world, and he isn’t given the choice.
My Thoughts: This was a really cool short story (around 70 pages). I loved how Wooding took the idea of prejudice and added a futuristic twist. It would be a really handy way to introduce the topic in a classroom and draw connections to history and current times (teacher brain at work)! For example, since Pales are technically dead by law, there are lawyers who pursue their estates because if they’re technically dead they can’t possibly own property.
I liked how Jed came to realize that what he and his friends believed—Pales aren’t real people—isn’t true because after his accident he knows he is just like he used to be except for his eyes and skin and hair that reveal him as a Pale. The only thing I wasn’t completely satisfied with was the ending—I think it just wrapped up abruptly, but that’s not to say that the ending trumps the story or the message of the story.
What a cool story!
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