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''The Declaration'' is a Young Adult novel by Gemma Malley, first published in 2008. The world it features is a dystopian reality in the 22nd century in which humanity has cured all illness and aspires to eternal life. ==Plot== ''"My name is Anna. And I shouldn’t be here. I shouldn't exist. But I do." ''〔The Declaration, p. 7〕 Surplus Anna is nearly 15 years old and has lived in Grange Hall (a Surplus Hall) for most of her life. She was taken away from her parents at the age of two and now, in year 2140, she has learned to "hate () parents" 〔The Declaration, p. 8〕 for bringing her into the world. Anna has also grown up believing that her parents hate her because it is her fault they are imprisoned. As part of her Pending process (through which she will become a Valuable Asset the moment she comes of age), Anna undergoes a work placement in the home of a Legal lady, Mrs Sharpe, who is kind to her in a way Anna is no used to. She allows her to take certain liberties that would earn her a beating if discovered by the staff at Grange Hall, like offering Anna to try on her lipstick. At the end of the placement, Mrs Sharpe gives Anna a small pink diary made of pink suede, in which Anna now writes every night. However, as "journals and writing () forbidden at Grange hall () Surpluses were not there to read and write () to learn and work",〔The Declaration, p. 16〕 Anna has to hide her diary away on a secret shelf in the side of the girls' bath. The arrival of a new Surplus at Grange Hall, Peter, begins as just another chore for Anna. As one of the House Matron's most trusted Prefects, she is instructed to make up his bed and leave his supplies waiting for him. She thinks no more of Peter intil he starts to cause problems for her. He tells dangerous stories about the world outside Grange Hall, and calls her "Anna Covey",〔The Declaration, p. 32〕 which he says is the name given to her by her parents. Peter tells Anna that her parents love her, and that they asked him to be captured so that he would be able to bring her home to them. Anna disregards everything that Peter says. She sees him as a trouble maker, and believes things would be simpler if Peter would come to terms with his debt to Mother Nature. Peter begins to get inside Anna's head, however, when Anna is beaten savagely by Mrs Pincent. She overhears Mrs Pincent talking about how she has become 'brainwashed' and realises that the House Matron does not care for her. She is not a Valuable Asset, and life in Grange Hall becomes meaningless. In the same conversation, Anna learns of a plot to kill Peter, who is still having difficulty settling into Grange Hall life. She purposely misbehaves and gets herself put into Solitary so that she may communicate with Peter, and the two form the plan to escape "through a tunnel in Solitary.",〔The Declaration, p. 137〕 which they very narrowly manage to execute. On the run from Grange Hall, the children seek shelter in the garden shed of Julia Sharpe, the Legal who Anna served on her placement. Julia is frightened to discover Anna and Peter, but reluctantly harbors them and feigns ignorance when the search party comes to her door. Mrs Sharpe helps Anna and Peter to get out of the village and drives them to the outskirts of London. Later however, she is pressured into giving them up to the Catchers. Upon arrival at her parents' house in Bloomsbury, Anna realises that Peter has been entirely truthful in his stories of her parents, and his claims that they love her. Anna's parents have longed for her return. At this point, Anna discovers she has a younger brother named Ben, who is still an infant. She is overwhelmed with love for her family after her upbringing in the frigid sterility of Grange Hall. When the children are discovered hiding beneath the floorboards by the authorities, whose search for the missing Surpluses leads them to the Coveys' door, Anna's parents commit suicide. There is a clause of The Declaration which explains that if a Surplus loses a parent then they become Legal. The two deaths mean that neither Ben nor Anna is a Surplus any longer. Shortly afterwards, Peter is informed by his grandfather (Richard Pincent) that his father has been killed by his mother, Margaret Pincent (the matron of Grange Hall), and that he is also now a Legal. In the book's conclusion Peter and Anna live together in her parent's house. They decide to raise Ben, Anna's brother, as their own child. All three are now Legals, and they begin a life of freedom outside of Grange Hall. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Declaration (novel)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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