To start off as of writing this post and the next I am 50% through the book so this won't be the most comprehensive post about the book also the there might be some spoilers throughout, not that there are many things to spoil. To start the main character of the book is Standish Treadwell the way they describe him is a 15 year old who can't read or write, and at first they display him as kid of a wimp always needing to be rescued by his friend Hector, then later on due to some events he gets some courage and stands up to a major authority figure when he is pushed to far, another trait he has is that when he was little his parents just upped and disappeared leaving him to be raised by his Grandfather. Another major character is Standishe's grandfather who is referred to as Gramps so far, and throughout the book he is depicted as a paranoid old man who bends the rules for the welfare of his Grandson and he really isn't a fan of the authoritative figures in the book. One of the other major characters in the book is Standishe's best friend Hector Lush who is smart, courageous, and kind of smart aleck about the authoritative figures almost the complete polar opposite of Standish , and since the story jumps back and forth between flashbacks and the present, in the present he has disappeared. The villain pretty much up to the point I read to was Standishe's teacher Mr. Gunnel who is evil towards Standish, caning him for no good reason, and has a very stern attitude towards him, and purposely sabotages him, he is also a guy that has blind loyalty to his country, he also does some things that are kind of shocking that I will go into detail about later.
The setting of the book is an alternate 1956 in witch the characters live in this place called the motherland and specifically the characters live in zone 7 which is all bombed out with few houses standing, and everything crumbling around them, and behind them is a restricted area that Standish frequents as a play area with Hector. A prediction I can make is that in that restricted area there is this wall and I predict that there is some secret government that Standish will stand up against and become a symbol of hope. The question I have is what country does the Motherland represent because I know that is what Russia is referred to but from the sounds of it could be taking place in the US so that is the big question. Also another question I have were is Hector because he just disappears randomly no rhyme or reason and is probably going to be a major plot point. Some connections I can make are to other Dystopian works such as George Orwells 1984, or The Giver or the movie Brazil all showing the a bleak vision of the world in shambles with people trying to pick up the pieces. Also I can connect the Fallout videogame series because they both take place in a alternate 1950s setting.
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