A dramatic, stylishly written, futuristic novel of rebellion…
The Children’s Bookshop
Rich in plausible detail and character, Box is a powerful and rewarding novel with a wide appeal.
Trevor Agnew (Magpies)
Selected for international White Ravens, a list of outstanding books for children in 2006.
After a pandemic, New Zealand becomes the first country to use an implant that monitors a person’s health. A group of teenagers resist the system…
Penelope Comments:
It was a surprising coincidence when Box came out just as NZ’s biggest mass (B meningococcal) vaccination of teenagers was under way. However, that wasn’t the point of the book which started out with a memory I have of sleeping on a sheet of cardboard as a kid. It grew via Derik, Marti and Disco into a mass rebellion by teens against the government’s attempts to vaccinate and ‘optimise’ the health of its citizens, compulsorily. Through them I explore notions of what the body knows, who should have a say in our healthcare, and how far that should be a private matter. I also enjoyed sending my characters through the streets and green belt of Dunedin where I live, and winding up with a mass rally in the Octagon.
Click here for author interview.
Box launch in Antarctica 2005 (Photo Claire Beynon)
One response to “Box”
[…] when something goes wrong in the world. Eg. Box by Penelope Todd about an epidemic that strikes New Zealand. Which aspect of the story matters most to you? That is […]