Jaclyn’s Review: The Limit by Kristen Landon

The Limit
written by Kristen Landon
published by Aladdin, 2010

find it here: (affiliate links) Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Apple Books, Kobo, Book Depository, Goodreads

Did I enjoy this book? My 5th grade son chose to read this book for a school assignment. Knowing my darling son, I read this book at the same time since I was positive that I would have to be able to discuss and critique his book report before submission. Big surprise, Mom was right. Haha!

Having no say in the choice of book, I was pleasantly surprised and entertained by this one! The Limit is a dystopian novel that takes place in present-day United States. Each family is assigned a spending limit based on their income and rank within society. If the family goes over that spending limit, the government takes the oldest child in the family to work in a type of “camp” until the debt is paid and the family is back under the limit. When his family goes over the limit, 13-year-old Matt has to go to a Workhouse to work off their debt. Fortunately, Matt is really smart and gets assigned to the “top floor” where he works on interesting computer assignments all day, has access to all the best amenities, and gets along with the other kids on his floor. He realizes that something seems wrong with the situation, researches it, and works to save all the kids from corruption.

I personally loved the concept of this book and would love to see it tackled for an older audience. As it stands, I think it was well written for a middle grade book, though I found a number of sections frustrating and slow. And to be clear, Matt saves the day by shooting basketballs into the open door of a helicopter . . . so . . . really?

Would I recommend it? I thought this was perfect for my 5th grade son, and I’m glad he chose it for his assignment. Even though it is dystopian fiction, I would not classify it in the same ranks as the Hunger Games, so I do not think it would be entertaining for an adult to independently read.
 

 

About the book – from Goodreads: An eighth grade girl was taken today . . . With this first sentence, readers are immediately thrust into a fast-paced thriller that doesn’t let up for a moment.

In a world not too far removed from our own, kids are being taken away to special workhouses if their families exceed the monthly debt limit imposed by the government. Thirteen-year-old Matt briefly wonders if he might be next, but quickly dismisses the thought. After all, his parents are financially responsible, unlike the parents of those other kids. As long as his parents remain within their limit, the government will be satisfied and leave them alone. But all it takes is one fatal visit to the store to push Matt’s family over their limit—and to change his reality forever.

Kristen Landon’s The Limit brings the popular dystopian thriller genre to a middle grade audience.

 

 

 

* This post contains affiliate links.

** This post first appeared on Every Free Chance Books (everyfreechance.com) on September 20, 2021.