Scored by Lauren McLaughlin {Review}

Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers

Publish Date: October 25, 2011

Source: Library
Goodreads

Set in the future when teenagers are monitored via camera and their recorded actions and confessions plugged into a computer program that determines their ability to succeed. All kids given a "score" that determines their future potential. This score has the ability to get kids into colleges, grant scholarships, or destroy all hope for the above. Scored's reluctant heroine is Imani, a girl whose high score is brought down when her best friend's score plummets. Where do you draw the line between doing what feels morally right and what can mean your future? 

I feel Scored never got the recognition it deserves. This is one solid dystopian.

The idea that the world is run on a scoring system doesn’t really take a lot of imagination. We already base a person’s worth off whether they got a certain amount of schooling and how well they did at it to a certain degree. The setting also doesn’t require too much thought in that the current time period doesn’t seem to be too far in the future. I mean, at some point Imani even mentions Kmart. This isn’t a bad thing, though. It really works to have the focus be on the score rather than the setting for this one.

I liked Imani a lot. She made some regrettable decisions a few times, but that’s part of being a teenager, especially with something like the score hanging over your head. She had good intentions, but just didn’t know what to do with them for a while. She was determined and (sort of) knew what she wanted which is a lot more than most protagonists in dystopians know.

The romance between Diego and Imani was slightly abrupt, but I’d say it still worked.

The Nutshell: This is an incredibly fantastic dystopian which doesn’t get the recognition it deserves. The scoring system is something that’s not too hard to imagine in our current society. Imani is a strong character who is determined to get what she wants, but not by stabbing those close to her in the back. Scored is a quick read that you should definitely devote a few hours to if you’re a fan of dystopians. If you’re unsure whether you like dystopians or not you should still give this one a try as it’s fairly light.

Pages: 240

Series: No
Rating: 4 stars