Book Review: The Limit by Kristen Landon

The Limit

by Kristen Landon
Published: September 7, 2010
Genres: Dystopian, Middle Grade
Format: Hardcover (304 pages)
Source: Purchased

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.

The Limit was a mild dystopian about modern workhouses and over-spending money that I thought Dickens would approve of. It was close enough to our world to make it plausible but off-kilter enough to make it a tad creepy. There was not a lot of stuff happening or action in the plot, but I had a lot of questions so it kept my interest. I enjoyed the writing. The characters were fun and easy for me to visualize. She did a really good job with the main character, Matt. I loved how often he stuck his foot in his mouth. The conflict was rather tame for my taste. There was so much potential for a really intense page turner and I was disappointed that it didn’t quite go there. I could tell the whole time that something sinister was going on, but when we find out what it is, the story doesn’t really go into the what and why of the whole thing. I guess my complaint is that I wanted to know more! What was the “bad guy’s” motivation? What exactly were they doing to the kids? Overall it was a good read that was different from a lot of the dystopians out there.

Content Rating: Everyone.  No language, no violence and the kids are 13 so they kiss really fast just once. :)