Disclose

September 25, 2020

Gr 7 Up-This duology conclusion focuses on Merriel "Meri" Beckley and how she handles the information she learned in Verify, that the government is not to be trusted. Taking place in the not-too-distant future, it's a paperless world, allowing the digital world to easily delete things they no longer want people to know about. After years spent believing that the government was focused on creating a positive future without poverty and crime, Meri learned that their methods were dangerous to anyone who didn't cooperate, including Meri's mother, who was murdered for trying to share the truth. Shortly after the events of the previous book, Meri has picked up where her mother left off and is working with her best friend's mother by utilizing her popular magazine to reveal what the government has really been up to. Meri decides that seeing is believing and opts to go undercover to get proof of people being imprisoned for questioning authority. A slow start to this conclusion leads toward a terrifying depiction of people disappearing for voicing their concerns and the labor and punishment they're forced into after being imprisoned. Drawing parallels between real-world historical events, like the Holocaust and the Underground Railroad, brings a sense of realism that will have readers wondering what the future will look like. Race and ethnicity isn't explicitly stated, and Meri has blonde hair. VERDICT An overall hopeful look at the power one voice speaking out can have to create a better future.-Rebecca Greer, Hillsborough County P.L. Coop., FL

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