SCHMATZ, Pat

“In a world similar to ours with some genetic twists and decisional turns,” Kivali Kerwin is forced to attend CropCamp, an agricultural youth training program run by the government, SayFree Gov. At fifteen, she is younger than the rest of the at-risk campers, all of whom are working for the certification that will keep them out of Blight, a dangerous, ungoverned community composed of criminals and nonconforming citizens. Additionally, Kivali—an orphan whose bohemian guardian raised her with the story that she had been dropped on Earth by an alien lizard race, and who hears an otherworldly communication she calls “Lizard Radio”—is a “midrange bender”: an androgynous youth forced to choose a gender before puberty. As she discovers more about the system in control and the society of which she is a part, Kivali begins to wonder if it really is imperative to identify as only girl or boy, straight or gay, human or lizard. In a sea of post-apocalyptic and dystopian young adult novels with female heroes, Lizard Radio stands out. Unusual, mildly magical, and well paced, Kivali’s quest to dismantle the system manages to be unique yet relatable. The distinct dystopian world, the gender-bending protagonist, and the socially conscious writing provoke questions about Kivali’s (and the reader’s) reality. Some questions are left unanswered, maybe because life is like that