I took this book out from our school library, as it is one of the nominated for Wirral Paperback of the year. It's a great, haunting novel set in the not-so-far future, where resources have been used up and adults, or "Legals" have decided children are using up our oxygen and don't deserve to be alive or walking. So they send these children to Grange Hall, where the head matron Mrs Pincent makes the children Useful, and finally makes them Valuable Assets, working for the Legals. These children are known by everyone only as Surpluses. Anna is such a Surplus, and a good one too. She is on the verge of becoming a Valuable Asset, and the people at the hall have made her hate her parents, because if they hadn't had created her, then there would be more resources for the Legals. Her life is going fine, though she has a secret- a diary given to her by a woman she worked with during work experience. Surpluses aren't allowed written words, so she must keep this hidden. She is a model Surplus, and Mrs Pincent loves her, but when Peter, a teenage boy, is caught and brought in, her life changes. They plan an escape, and Peter says he would take her to her parents, who loves her. This is a beautifully written book, by a promising first time author. This is a book for all children who are mature readers, and adults alike. A perfectly intriguing book, with an important message. Well done Gemma Malley! Wonderful!