By Catherine Fisher
Rating: 4 1/2 stars
Genre: Science Fiction
What if the future was the past? Although the year this story is set in is far in the future, the current rulers have forced everyone to live in more Victorian times, making their homes, clothing, and more look like that distant period in history. And more than 150 years ago, they created what they believed would be a Utopian society, and placed nearly a third of the population into Incarceron, a giant prison that would recycle everything within it and be self-supporting. Claudia is the daughter of the Warden of Incarceron and is desperate to know all she can about the place, but the biggest secret of Incarceron is that no one knows where it is. Claudia is due to marry the insipid Prince Caspar, and wishes that she could be marrying the first prince, who died in an accident a few years before. Then, during her searching, she discovers a key with mysterious powers, and the key shows her a boy holding the a duplicate of her key within the prison. Finn seems to have memories of the world outside of Incarceron and thinks he may be able to escape. As the two learn to communicate through the key, Claudia begins to think that Finn may be more than a simple prisoner. But her wedding is at hand...can they figure out where Incarceron is and how to escape from it before it is too late? This is a hard to put down story and readers will wonder if a sequel is in the offing. Fascinating adventure!
