Foyt, V. (2011). Save the Pearl Part One: Revealing Eden. Sand Doll
ar Press, Inc. ISBN: 9780983650324. $18.99.
Author Website: http://www.victoriafoyt.com/
Readers Annotation: Pale-skinned Eden tries to break out of her low class positioning when she assists her father in his experiments, including a part man, part jaguar.
Summary: Eden pretends to be one of the Coals, the darker skin people who rule the underground civilization. She even believes that her recent flirtation with one of the Coal security officers may be her key to a better life. If this does not happen, she will be forced to the surface where she will surely die from the Heat. Fortunately, even though she is a lowly Pearl, her scientist father’s work lifts her above the rest of her race. If Eden’s father can succeed, the civilization will be saved by the combination of various animal DNA with humans. One evening, truth comes out and loyalties are revealed. There is an attack in the middle of one of the experiments leaving the powerful Coal, Bramford, part man and part jaguar. In order to survive, Bramford, Eden, and her father set off to a hidden village deep within the rainforest. Once there, Eden begins to learn shocking truths about Bramford’s past and the history of the village.
Reading Level: Grades 7 and
Interest Level: Grades 9 and up
Review and Evaluation: I was truly surprised by the horrific reviews that accompanied this book. I am a fan of the site, Goodreads, and it only received 1.96 stars out of five. I don’t remember ever seeing a rating that low. Because of this, I read several of the reader reviews on the site. Obviously racism was the number one topic people took issue with. I was a bit wary to read it at first after reading the reviews. However, I knew that there had to be something good in it if it was required to read it for class. I’m glad I did read it because I realized that I disagreed extensively with the reviews on Goodreads.
The main issues that I gathered from other reviews and things that I picked up myself include:
- White people are called “Pearls” alluding that they are precious and beautiful and Black people are called “Coals” meaning that they are dirty.
- The use of black-face
- Black people are portrayed as mean, uncaring people.
There are many other things, but these are the main things. In regards to the names of the races, I feel like people are looking too far into things. I truly do not believe that it was Foyt’s attempt to belittle a race of people by calling them Coals. As one of my teens said the other day, coal turns into diamonds so being called a coal shouldn’t be a bad thing. On a similar vein, it’s true that black-face was used many decades ago in theater and film as a derogatory way to represent black people. However, that is not at all how it is used in Foyt’s book. If anything, she uses black-face as a way to emulate the black people. It’s true that there is an established negative connotation for black-face, but that is not what Foyt is trying to do. Finally, it’s true that the black people in the book, for the most part, as not nice. However, they run the government, which as we have learned for many other dystopian novels, the government/authority figures are usually oppressive resulting in the protagonist’s need to rebel.
In closing, I wasn’t a huge fan of this book, but it had nothing to do with the racial issues that several people cannot see past. I thought the story was a bit confusing from time to time. I had a difficult time suspending my belief to make the story believable in my imagination. I kept asking too many questions, particularly when they got to the rainforest. If Bramford was living in Eden’s civilization underground, how did he manage to have an entire life so far away? Why didn’t Eden die from the heat instantly when they got to the rainforest? The sun should be much more powerful there, but somehow she was fine. My main issues with the book were definitely plot holes. However, I would recommend this title to others because of all the questions it uncovers. It is a great discussion book.
Subjects/Genres: Dystopian, Race Issues, Romance, Science Fiction, Violence
Bibliotherapeutic Uses:
Revealing Eden is a great tool to start a discussion on race and tolerance. It has the popular dystopian setting and the fantasy elements of half man, half jaguar characters.
Controversial Issues:
As I stated and listed above, there are several racial issues present in this title.
- Defense – The book discusses racism so it should not be surprising that the book is going to portray races negatively. However, the book as a whole handles the topic of racism in a nice manner. The portrayal of racism will spark good discussion amongst the readers.
Booktalking Ideas:
Imagine a world after the ozone layer is finally completely destroyed. What do you think it will be like?
Give a brief description of the class system of the book.
Explain the rationale behind Bramford the Jaguarman. What other animals would have good DNA to help the survival of humanity?
Awards and Booklists:
- Eric Hoffer Award for Young Adult, 2012
- Books & Authors Best YA Fantasy Award
Readalikes:
- Noughts & Crosses by Malorie Blackman
- Nomansland by Lesley Hague
- Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
- Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
- Black City by Elizabeth Richards
Professional Reviews:
Why I Chose This Book: I covered some reasons in the “Review and Evaluation” section. I read this book mainly because I was curious about the low ratings. I like to decide things for myself.
Young Adult Controversial Titles 