Book Review: The Slated Trilogy

Have you ever finished reading a really great book and experienced a feeling of anger and frustration? Not because the book was over... but because you wish you had written the book yourself? I LOVED Slated so much I found myself wishing that the story was mine. I wished that story had come from my imagination and flowed through my fingers onto the paper. Teri Terry did a fantastic job creating relatable characters, making you fall for them, and then throwing them (and your emotions) through the ringer. Be careful, just when you think everything is over another surprising plot twist sneaks it's way in!

Slated is set in a futuristic London where student riots have caused the government to go to extreme measures to protect their youth. Kids under the age of 16 who are suspected of committing terrorist acts are sentenced to undergo a procedure known as slating. Their memories and personalities are wiped clean essentially making them a "clean slate". They are assigned to a new family to start their lives over with no memories of who they once were or what they had done to warrant slating.

Kyla has been slated and given a second chance... as long as she plays by the government's rules. She's sent to live with a new family and forced to wear a Levo, a device that monitors her happiness levels. If she drops to low it causes pain, blackouts, and possibly death.

Slated follows Kyla's journey as she tries to find a way to fit into her new life, understand her romantic feelings for Ben, another slated, and put together pieces of her past that keep popping up when she least expects it. Through twists and turns Kyla struggles to know who to trust. A difficult task when she doesn't even know who she is. Be prepared for an adrenaline pumping adventure you won't be able to put down!

This book would be perfect to use for literature circles in upper grades, especially for fans of modern dystopians like Hunger Games, Maze Runner, and Divergent. Slated provides a great opportunity for students to discuss what is ethically right and how much control governments should have. It would also be great paired with Among the Hidden (Haddix). Having one group reading Slated and one reading Among the Hidden would lead to great classroom discussions as both books feature governments abusing their power. (Oh how I wish I taught 8th grade right now!!)

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Happy Reading : )