The Secret Under My Skin

by Janet McNaughton

Overview

In the year 2368, humanity struggles to recuperate from a technocaust that has left a generation of orphans in its wake. Strict government regulations convince people that technology is dangerous; confusion and fear rule the earth.

Blay Raytee is a government work-camp orphan. Her future seems as bleak as that of the world around her. But when she is chosen for a special mission by a guardian of the environment named Marrella, Blay begins to discover that all may not be as it seems. The secrets she uncovers could hold the key both to the healing of the world and to her own past. What she learns may just empower her to join those who struggle to restore democracy -- and to discover at last who she really is.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780006485643
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	06/09/2023
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	4.28(w) x 7.00(h) x 0.72(d)

About the Author

JANET McNAUGHTON is the multi-award-winning author of many books, including The Secret Under My Skin, An Earthly Knight and her most recent novel, Dragon Seer, which was shortlisted for the prestigious TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award, as well as both the CLA Young Adult Book Award and the Book of the Year for Children Award. McNaughton lives in St. John’s, Newfoundland, with her family. Visit her online at www.janetmcnaughton.ca.

Read an Excerpt

The Secret Under My Skin

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By Janet McNaughton

HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.

Copyright © 2006 Janet McNaughton
All right reserved.
ISBN: 0060089903

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Chapter One

The Grand Hotel

At night I listen while some of the kids whisper their stories, from before. When they had families and homes. One after another. "I had a mother and she loved me. . . ." "My father had a job. He used to bring us candy. . . ." "My grandmother sang this song. . . ." And I believe them because kids who hit the streets too young never make it here.

We sleep in the basement of the grand hotel. It had a name once, but no one remembers now. The warders call it the Model Social Welfare Project. We call it the work camp. But the walls keep out the rain and snow. We sleep on beds. I don't have to beg or lift scrip cards or satisfy the stranger whims of strangers to earn my food like I did when the Tribe had me, when I lived in the Core.

The others talk about the past, but I don't. Not ever. If asked, I say I don't remember. But that's not true. I keep my memories to myself because they aren't like anyone else's. Not comforting. Not beautiful. Others cling to the past like shreds of an old blanket. My memories are more like shards of glass. I drift off to sleep tonight hoping I can take the others' memories with me to make my dreams. Hoping I will not fall into the same loop of haunting shadows that cannot be understood. Buttonight is no different from any other. Once again, I'm in the strange city. The air is hot and breathless. We are at the edge of a green field enclosed by fine buildings--some made of stone. One has a rounded, green roof. I look around without straining because my head is resting on Someone's arm.

Suddenly I'm in another place. Darkness crowds the circle of bright light that holds me. There is music and noise. I am captivated by a yellow bowl on the table in front of me, bright in the unfamiliar lights of nighttime. Without warning, arms rip me from my chair. I hear a woman howl after me, a wordless wail. Then only darkness and the sound of running. I wake with a jolt.

Those are my memories. If I told them, who would believe me? What do they mean? I only know that I was once held by Someone. Who? If I could just shift my gaze a few centimeters, what would I see? When my heart is quiet again, I lie awake wishing I knew. If I had a memory of Someone--a mother or a father--maybe I would be someone too. But I am nothing. Just a voice inside my head. I only know that Someone once held me safe, even if I got lost after. Even if I was left behind. And Someone gave me my Object, the only thing I've managed to keep with me all this time. Whatever it is.

As I lie thinking, a sound creeps into the darkness. It grows until I recognize the hum of a fuel cell. The lights of a vehicle sweep past the frosted basement windows. Who would come here so late? But the sound doesn't stop. It continues up the hill. The only house up there belongs to a Master of the Way. I've never seen a vehicle go there before. A little kid whimpers. Before anyone else hears, I slip out of bed and find her. She's sitting up, her eyes wide. "The lights," she whispers. "Are they coming for us?"

I smooth the sweat-flattened hair off her face. "No. Don't worry. Lie down."

She shakes her head. "I'm scared."

"Lie down," I say again. "I'll stay, all right?" She nods. After a few minutes, her eyes start to close. She puts her thumb in her mouth and goes to sleep, but I stay with her. Just in case.

Continues...

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Excerpted from The Secret Under My Skin by Janet McNaughton Copyright © 2006 by Janet McNaughton. Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Editorial Reviews

McNaughton's (An Earthly Knight) novel, a portrait of a chilly dystopia, eloquently juggles a pair of cautionary messages. In the year 2368, teenage narrator Blay Raytee works in the landfill mines, digging for remnants of the human society that was devastated by a manmade, technology-induced ecological disaster. When Marrella, the new "bio-indicator" (a person who makes forays into the poisonous atmosphere of the outside), chooses Blay as her assistant, the teen learns that much of what she knows about the world is a lie. McNaughton draws parallels between today's society and this future world; for instance, the "technocaust" indeed happened, but the ruling party uses its recent threat to control the populace through fear. Blay learns, thanks to a microchip described by the title, that her actual name is Blake Raintree, and her "Object" (a cassette tape ), which she has clutched from the time she was set on the streets as a toddler, contains the secret of who she is and clues to her parents' identity. The heroine grows more likable as the story moves along and becomes more self-aware and optimistic. The narrative's present tense gives each of Blay's discoveries a sense of immediacy. In addition to the front-and-center allegory on the environment, McNaughton hints at man's willingness to hurt each other en masse through the use of the word "technocaust" and talk of concentration camps. A thought-provoking novel. Ages 12-up. (Mar.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

Gr 7 Up-Set in 2368, this dystopian novel offers a glimpse of a potential future for our world. Blay lives in a work camp for homeless children, where they dig through a garbage dump to retrieve valuable items such as paper. There is not much technology left after the recent technocaust, when scientists were blamed for environmental disasters and taken to concentration camps. Due to her love of reading, Blay is chosen to help Marella, the new bio-indicator, with her studies. In the past, these individuals, whose bodies react to poisons in the environment, served as warning mechanisms for others, but now, as the Earth heals and the danger lessens, they are expected to collect and interpret scientific data. As she helps Marella pass a series of tests, Blay discovers that she has a natural talent for science. As she starts to live a more normal life, she realizes how misled she has been by the people in charge of her society. Her knowledge grows along with that of readers', building suspense and making the resolution more satisfying. Blay is a vividly rendered narrator who exposes her own emotional vulnerability, which enhances her heroism. The setting and culture of the book are equally vividly rendered, offering a depth that allows readers to believe fully in its premise. The writing is clear and crisp, evoking a magic that enchants. All of these elements make this one of the top science fiction novels in recent years.-Tasha Saecker, Caestecker Public Library, Green Lake, WI Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

Inept plotting and pacing sinks this idea-rich import, set in Newfoundland. By 2368, the Earth is only beginning to recover from the ecological depredations of previous centuries; meanwhile, survivors live in isolated colonies, under the thumb of a faceless "Commission" thanks to an orchestrated, wholesale slaughter of scientists, billed the Technocaust, a few years before. Blay, a teenaged orphan, learns all of this after being requisitioned from a Commission workhouse to provide companionship for Marrella, an arrogant townie whose weak immune system has made her a candidate for the prestigious, once-dangerous job of Bio-Indicator, or living environmental monitor. While slowly developing this promising set-up, McNaughton continually shoehorns in subplots and new characters, from a semi-religious resistance, to romantic interests for the two protagonists, from a sudden, offstage revolution partway through that brings down the Commission, to a protracted but similarly offstage search for Blay's past. Readers hoping for a clear story arc, main characters who play major roles in events rather than just watching or hearing about them, or even just a bit of suspense, will be disappointed. (Fiction. 11-13)

Kirkus Reviews

A suspenseful story featuring an itelligent, fierce heroine. The intense emotion will hold YA readers.” — KLIATT (starred review)

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