HELPER12 [Kindle Edition]

Helper 12 draws you into a world where freedom and self-determination are only for the social elite. A great, fast-paced adventure full of vivid imagery, interesting characters and clever twists. This one was hard to put down!

MY REVIEW

Firstly I should point out that I read this in just the one sitting! it was silly O'Clock at night when I finally finished it and put it down. I had to know what happened. It is so well written, you are hooked into the book almost straight away.
The book is literally Helper12 and Baby4's tale, how a rich society lady can just waltz in and choose her child. In this society money buys you anything your heart desires and this woman desires a new son. Mrs Slone has two sons, Thomas and Gregory, but Gregory has disappointed and been literally hidden away and disposed of in her mind. When Mrs Sloane buys Baby4 she also needs someone to care for him in her home as she is planning a trip away with her husband for three weeks. So as well as buying Baby4 the Sloane's buy Helper12. No one from the lowly classes as in not society have names, well they have names that their baby helpers gave them but are not allowed to use them. The lowly classes are also encouraged to tell on each other if rules and regulations are broken.
Helper12 loves drawing, even though she knows its a risk, that even Kris the one she considers her best friend in this world would have to tell the authorities if she found out about Helper12's drawing. if Helper12 was ever found out her friend would have to serve double her own sentence just for the fact she hadn't told on her! Its a very restrictive life for the lowly classes, they cannot escape as they all have tatoo's on their arms as to correspond with their jobs. Helper12 was originally going to be a Breeder so she was tatooed with a B, then it was later decided, (Helper12 thinks she failed some test)that she should be a baby Helper so an H is tatooed over the B.
Helper12 see's a totally different way of life when she goes to the Sloanes home. Helper12 trusts no one its too dangerous, by being sold to the Sloanes if they decide they no longer want her she could be sent to the Labour camps,.......to die.
When the Sloane's go on the trip, Helper12 hear many whispers between the staff about the family. Helper12 gets to know Thomas, the son of the family.....but should she trust him. Thomas doesn't seem like other Society people, he...he seems to care about Baby4 or as Helper12 calls the little boy Jobee.He takes helper12 and Jobee out on outings. Thomas has his own secrets and upsets in his life.
There are many secrets within the Sloane household, that Helper12 hears about. When the Sloanes return from their trip Mrs Sloane doesn't seem interested in Jobee or William as she insists he be called. She refers to him as a "thing"
Helper12 is desperately worried as to what will happen if the Sloanes decide that they no longer want Jobee, as if they get rid of him, there will be no need for her either....... Thomas offers her a way out...but will she brave enough to take it?......Will they even make it?.....The place Thomas tells her about....does it even exist? I hope I haven't given away too much of the book I have purposely left things out for you to discover when you read the book. i really enjoyed this book and didn't want it to end, I wanted to knoe what was happening with Kris when Helper12 had disappeared, I wanted to learn more of Deen, Robert and Gregory and their tales.
I also think that the cover fits the book so well, the arm of Helper12 holding the strong arm and unmarked arm of Thomas the Society man.
Did I enjoy the book? Yes I could rattle on about it for ages! Would I recommend it? Yes, great dystopian society novel. Would I read more if there's a Series? Yes!
A MUST read!

I haven't read a lot of dystopian books but enjoy the dark glimpses of the future and the hope that is still to be found regardless in the ones I have read. That's why this book appealed to me and made it onto my TBR list.

HELPER12 is a baby helper, taking care of little ones up to the age of 6 mths. Once they get to that age they are tracked and their future is determined by what vocation they are given. Will they be a Thinker, a Breeder, a Leisure Doll or one of many other designations? HELPER12 realises that despite not being allowed to do many things, including express herself creatively or build relationships, being a baby helper is far from the worst vocation to have.

However when Society family the Sloanes appear on her ward both she and baby Jobee (who would have been designated a number once tracked) are sold in an illegal adoption. Moving into the Sloanes house she thinks the rich must have the perfect life but comes to realise money doesn't equate to happiness. Her life becomes even more complicated when she realises she is bonding with Jobee and loves him, and as she develops a tentative friendship with the Sloane's biological son Thomas.

The world that Blaine has created is depressing, with a person's entire life controlled by the career they are allocated. Freedom of expression is long gone, and what people do is monitored constantly by cameras, with dire consequences for those who break the rules. The technology and the surroundings presented sound familiar which probably helps make this future sound all the more plausible. Yet despite this there is some happiness to be found, and hope springs eternal.

I thought the characters were really well done, and found that although HELPER12 has had limited experience of life outside her cube and is quite naive and joyful at the new things she sees she is also very perceptive. I found myself so attached to her and Thomas that when things looked like they would go wrong for them I had that leaden feeling in the pit of my stomach. On the other hand we have characters like the Director who is happy to arrange the illegal adoption, and Mrs Sloane who seems to immediately tire of her new baby, representing what is wrong with the society presented.

This isn't a particularly long book, but I think the reason I romped through it in a matter of hours had more to do with my being hooked. I was unable to put it down until I had completed it. I thought this was another polished book and would happily recommend it.