Neva lives in a world where someone is always watching. The government built the Protectosphere she lives in to keep everyone safe, yet that same government also seems to make people disappear and never come back. As life inside the dome becomes more limited, the government squeezes its citizens ever more tightly to squelch insurgencies before they spread. Yet Neva is determined to rebel. Her status as the offspring of one of the founding families may protect her for a while, but it doesn’t stop those she loves from being affected in ways she never could have imagined.

In Dark Parties, author Sara Grant paints a civilization of the future that seems to have started off with noble intentions. The world was a dangerous place, so they built a protective dome to keep everyone safe. But government control grew until everything was regulated and everyone was afraid to speak out. History was routinely revised to reflect current thinking. Genetic manipulation bred undesirable physical qualities out until most of the population looked similar.

Just like Neva, the reader doesn’t know who to trust either. Her dad is suspect since he works for the government, and her mom is often away from home. She finds out her long-time boyfriend Ethan has been implanted with a tracking device, and her friends are disappearing at an increasing rate.

Dark Parties will keep you on the edge of your seat as you follow Neva through the confusion to a startling end. Along the way she confronts issues of friendship, courage, brutality, conformity, and love. She wrestles with big concepts: should she fight back, or should she become a good citizen and accept what’s in store for her? Is security more important to her than individuality? Can one person make a difference? Neva’s journey should bring up discussions about issues that are as relevant today and they would be in a future world. I recommend it for girls aged 15 and up.

The publisher provided me with a copy of this book for review.