This book falls somewhere between horror and suspense, two genres I generally find too upsetting to enjoy. It opens in an underground prison. Melanie is one of 24 children kept at all times either locked in cells, or strapped into wheelchairs for the school day. Melanie knows that she was brought to this complex from somewhere else, but her early memories are vague. She only learned to speak in this school and it is difficult to remember things that she has no words for. However, her days aren't entirely unhappy. One of the five teachers who come into the classroom smelling of harsh chemicals is Miss Justineau, who reads the students Greek myths, plays games, sings songs, and brings in arm loads of flowering branches (the first Melanie has ever seen) in springtime. But something is weighing Miss Justineau down with sadness, and it might have something to do with the two children who were taken away- Liam and Marcia- and never returned. Melanie wants to ask about them, but she is worried that if she does she too will be taken away, and the thought of never seeing Miss Justineau again is more terrible than anything else she can think of. Until the day she is taken.

The fact this book was too creepy for me to read before bed (and at times too gross to read during breakfast) is the only thing stopping me from giving it five stars.