Unsworth, Tania.
THE ONE SAFE PLACE
New York : Algonguin Young Readers 2014
IL 5-8, RL 4.9
ISBN 1616203293

(3 booktalks)

Booktalk #1

When Devin is forced to venture away from one of the few remaining safe places in a dystopian world, he is given what appears to be the chance of a lifetime, an invitation to the Gabriel H. Penn Home for Childhood. The Home seems like a paradise, but Devin senses that something isn’t right. Will he discover what foul play is lurking there in time to escape a horrible fate? (Booktalk by the Louisiana Young Readers' Choice Committee)

Booktalk #2

Devin lives on a farm with his grandfather. When his grandfather dies, Devin travels to the mysterious city to look for help. He finds a run-down world of extreme poverty and extreme wealth. The rich people control the water in this hot, dry world. Devin befriends a girl named Kit who shows him how to survive on the streets. There is rumored to be an orphanage at the edge of the city where children can be safe. Kit and Devin go in search of comfort but find a nightmare. Rich people pay to “borrow” their bodies and memories to relive their childhoods. And children like Kit, with unhappy childhoods, disappear mysteriously. How can they get out?    (Dorothy Canfield Fisher Book Award DCF 2015 - 2016)

Booktalk #3

Devin has always lived on an isolated farm with his grandfather. When his grandfather dies, Devon can no longer run the farm and decides to go to the city. Once there he ends up living on the streets where he is befriended by Kit. She shows him how to survive, barely. One day they meet a boy who offers to take them to a place where there is food and safety…or is there? Once there Devon realizes that something is wrong. Where do the others go for a day and why do they come back changed? Who are the many old adults coming by and looking them over? Why is there an electrified fence around the place? This is the book for you if you like creepy dystopian fiction. (Pennsylvania Young Reader’s Choice Award 2017-2018)