Review: The Breeding Tree

Title: The Breeding Tree
Author: J. Andersen
Grade: A+

Synopsis from the back of the book
When seventeen year old Katherine Dennard is selected to become a "Creation Specialist" in Sector 4, the opportunity sounds like a dream come true. But Kate soon discovers the darker side of her profession - the disposal of fetal organs and destruction of human life. It makes sense, really. In a society where disease and malformations don't exist, human perfection demands that no genetic "mutants" be allowed to live. For Sector 4, "survival of the fittest" is not just a theory - it's The Institute's main mission.

When Kate discovers that The Institute is using her DNA to create new life, her work gets personal. In order to save her unviable son, she'll have to trust Micah and his band of underground Natural Born Rebels. The problem is, if The Institute discovers her betrayal, the next body being disposed of could be hers.
Review
As you can tell from many of the books I review, I really enjoy the genre of dystopian fiction. Of course, when reading the synopsis for The Breeding Tree, I was instantly hooked. Katherine, or Kate as she is come to be known, lives in a dystopian society where everything is monitored, from food intake, what your job is, who you date, and who has children and even what kind of children. The society that the book is set in only allows children to be born if they are without defect. If they are fond to be nonviable, which means they have any sort of flaw, they are disposed of. When Kate is assigned the job of creation specialist, this is a job she must learn to do. Along the way Kate becomes friends with people that are fighting this perfect society and they make a huge impact on many of the decisions Kate has to make.

I absolutely LOVED this book. Once I picked it up, I could not put it down. I feel like the issues of birth and when a child is considered a child is a hot topic in this day in age. Anderson is able to discuss this subject in a nonthreatening, but very thought provoking way. It brings up questions in the readers mind such as, at what point is a life considered a life, or would it be possible to have a perfect society?I think that Anderson also makes all of her characters very relatable to the reader. Every time Kate went through a struggle, or had to make a tough decision, I felt for her.  The book ends kind of on a cliff hanger, so I am assuming this is the start of a series. I think that anyone who enjoys dystopian fiction will be instantly drawn into The Breeding Tree!  Even those who do not typical look at dystopian books will enjoy this thought provoking novel! You can read more about J. Anderson and her books by visiting her blog.

Happy Reading!

Bookaholic