47. You'll Like It Here (Everybody Does) - Ruth White

Delacorte Press, 2011
HC $16.99
for:  middle grades
258 pgs.
Rating: 4

First Line:  "When I was in the third grade on the California coast, a crazy man came into my classroom one day and started waving a knife around.  He said he was an alien hunter."

Setting:  North Carolina, then an alternate, somewhat identical, universe


One-sentence summary:  The Blue family, Meggie, David, Mom, and Gramps, try to find a place where they can live a normal, happy family life (spoiler coming) since they had to flee from their own planet.

There's really no way to review this book without spoilers....I was glad I hadn't read the flap information too thoroughly so that I was somewhat surprised when I got to Chapter 4 for the big reveal.  Sure there were hints, but they were delicious ones. The Blue family has to flee their much-loved home in North Carolina and end up in an alternate universe, in a town called Fashion City,  which is heavily controlled and life is boring and there are no choices.  People survive by taking "Lotus", which keeps them tranquil and laid-back, unquestioning and unable to revolt.  "The Fathers" are responsible for everything - and they are to be unquestioned.  However, when Gramps is forced to go to "Vacation 65," from which no one returns, the family has to take quick and immediate action to find another place to live.

Utopia.  The Giver. Alternate universes.  Not a setting or storyline you'd expect from Ruth White. I liked it.