Scored by Lauren McLaughlin

Scored
Lauren McLaughlin
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Release Date: October 25, 2011
Pages: 240

Rating: 5 stars

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? Friendship, romance, loyalty, family, human connection and human value: all are questioned in this fresh and compelling dystopian novel set in the scarily forseeable future.

Dystopians that are realistic are the best sort of reads, and Lauren McLaughlin absolutely nailed that aspect in Scored. Being in my first year of college, I know all about the pressure of being scored, since I had to go through the intense process of essentially being scored by the college admissions officials, but Scored takes what teens today know to an entirely new level. I read this book in one sitting - it was just a brilliant read.

I loved the plot. It was so believable that something like this could happen in the future, and as eerie as that is, it was such a fascinating read. Scored really plays up the emotions and what values people will to hold and which they will toss out. The scenes in Mr. Carol's class were definitely among my favorite, those along with the rendezvous that Imani and Diego have. Something else I really loved about Scored is that it could take place in the near future. That was what made it so cool.

The characters were great. I really liked Mr. Carol - he was quite possibly my favorite character of the book. He was so funny, but it wasn't like he was attempting to be funny. It was simply his actions would come off that way. I also really liked the way he challenged his students. Diego was another really great character. I loved that he fought back and didn’t simply settle with what he was handed. Imani was a good main character – My thoughts on her did waver at one point in the book, but I was happy she made the right decisions.

This book was just awesome - definitely among my top books of the year. I could not put it down while I was reading, and as soon as I finished, I wanted to pick it up and read it all over again. With its realistic take on the future and wonderful characters, Scored will be sure to become a longtime favorite. I really loved this one quite a lot.

This review is cross-posted from YA Books Central, where it was originally posted.