The book that I chose is Anomaly, which was written by Krista Magee.

It is a science fic-
tion yet it feels very vivid to me. It takes place on the Earth that we live now but years later. It is
said that the world would be decimated by a nuclear war decades after we die. The world in the
book is not exactly where we are living but underground. The people continue their lives under-
ground where they had been building a world before the “upper world” was destroyed and pol-
luted by the nuclear war. People had always predicted that there would be something which
would lead to the end of the world and a handful of scientists known as The Ten, was sent to
build a whole city underground for the important people to live there later.

People who live there, named The State, do not bear children and so they have never
seen babies before. Bearing children is a primitive concept for them and they never get to watch
others die as well because they were told that watching others die could create conflict and un-
necessary emotions. In spite of the advanced technology The Scientists has that they have
eradicated most illnesses, there are still have illnesses. They have always been told to report
themselves if they found themselves acting weird. These people will be taken to annihilated due
to the fact that they are seen as a threat to The State. They never judge what The State does,
they just do what they were told because that what have always been taught. There are Assis-
tants or Monitors who have dark hair, dark eyes, tall and thin, hair pulled away from their heads
who are designed with heightened senses of sight and hearing and so nothing escapes their no-
tices. They take care of everyone’s daily life. People there do not live in multi-storey buildings
but things they call the Pod. Different age groups live in different pods and those are the people
they will be living with until they are taken to annihilated due to sickness or aging. People do not
get to select their own occupation but everyone was decided by The State when they were born.
They were trained to fit in their positions in order to benefit the pod mates or even the whole
State.

The main character, Thailli is an anomaly. She was born with the ability to feel emotions
and a strong sense of curiosity which she can barely contain. She was designed to be a musi-
cian who will play music to her own pod from time to time. She had been controlling herself not
to show her abnormality by asking questions that sound like a “why” as she had to sound like
she simply wanted information or clarification, just logical questions instead of emotional ones.
She was never an obedient person, she did different things just to fulfill her own inquisitiveness.
She did not just treat her instruments as tools like anyone else but a way to vent her emotions.
That leads to her being taken to the Scientist’ quarters. She was scheduled for annihilation until
her old good friend, Berk saved her.

Berk is one of Thalli’s best friend who will develop an intimate relationship with Thalli in
the later part of the story. He grows up with Thalli and that he is wise. He allows Thalli to ask
questions and not feeling annoyed to answer them. He is allowed to read or go through as much
information he wants as he was designed as one of the people who have the possibility to re-
place The Ten when they grow old. He knows lots more than normal people. As he had been
training with the Scientists for a few years, he knows what it is by means of annihilation. He
does not want his childhood sweetheart to be killed and so he said he would use Thalli as a sci-
ence subject to test on some kind of syringes he is working on at that time.

However, as things go on. Thalli was taken as a science subject by another scientist, Dr.
Loudin. He put Thalli through stimulation which hurt Thalli very much mentally. He created a vir-
tual reality that involved all the senses, he developed scenarios, places, people with histories
and personalities. Thalli was put to sleep when she was in the stimulation and that she was be-
lieved that she was actually brought to the upper world, The Progress. She got to know another
boy, Stone, and be introduced how primitive everything is, how wonderful the creation of life is
and how they encourage their emotions, to show their love. Thalli thought she was being tested
on The Progress to see if she was capable of living in the upper world yet Berk revealed her the
truth. The Progress was not real that Dr. Loudin had been lying to Thalli and tried to mess up
her brain. All these things have confused her because she thought she could live in The
Progress where she may start a new life with new people and do not disturb Berk to become
one of The Ten.

“My heart is beating so fast. I am afraid of so many things. I am confused about so many
things. Stone tells me there is a place for me here. Berk tells me this might not even be real.
John tells me I have a great purpose. Until a few weeks ago, I was sure I was an anomaly. And I
might still be. I don’t know. Until a few weeks ago, I knew nothing of love. And now?” This is a a
quote from Thalli when she was once again put into The Progress. She learnt about love, God,
all the things we have now which are banned in that time from an old man, John. She thinks she
loves both Berk and John and this quote shows her confusion and how she is different from oth-
ers. She is the type of person who will question herself, trying to figure things out instead of just
do as she is told. She does not have much people to talk to at that period of time. She has got
everything messed up. She wants to do what John told her about having a great purpose be-
cause of God, she wants to believe in Berk, who she loves yet she refuses to trust that The
Progress does not actually exist. This part also shows how the Scientists’ works not acceptable
as they block people’s emotions and when one get in touch with all the nature stuff, they just
cannot handle it. The Scientists believe they are doing good for the world despite the fact that
they are actually creating the world they think is right, which is not the God’s will.

However, as Dr. Loudin continues to use Thalli with other science projects later, he
thinks that Thalli has become useless that he wants to extirpate her eventually. He schedules
her for annihilation again. However, Thalli does not afraid of death anymore at that time. “The
wall screen is beginning to fade. The blossoms are beginning to merge together. They look
more like clouds now. I don’t know if the image is changing or it is the effect of the poison. I
could try to hold my breath, to deny the entrance of this toxic gas into my body. But I would only
pass out, and my lungs would sucks in the poison laced oxygen as I lie here unconscious. No.I
will die the way I finally learned to live. Fully aware. At peace. With a heart so full of love that
even as it slows, it is still full. Because I know something the Scientists reuse to acknowledge.
Death is only the beginning. This quote is taken from nearly the end of the story and it is also
written as the prologue of the story which author wants the readers to know how Thalli is before
we start they story. She has always been different. She does not afraid of dying not because
she decides to obey but she knows what life really is after learning about God. She has enjoyed
herself in the bogus nature that she eagers to die to embrace the nature. She sees flowers and
clouds at the last moment of her life.