Premise
In the year 2030 of the novel, a scientist creates 'Longevity,' a drug which prevents death from old age but does not entirely halt the aging process. People continue to have children and, as there are no longer any deaths, this quickly leads to overpopulation. As a result, in the year 2065, the Declaration is introduced. This is a document which must be signed before an individual is allowed to take Longevity, and in doing so they agree not to have any children. In practice, this is not strictly upheld and some wealthy and powerful people have ways to take the drug and still have children.
Many people resist the Declaration. They still want to have families, but are unwilling to give up the chance to live indefinitely. Children born to those who have not opted out are referred to as "Surplus". In some countries, the Surpluses are killed at once, but in others, such as Britain, they are taken from their parents at birth to live in "Surplus Halls". They are taught that their existence is a crime against Nature, and that the only way they can atone for their parents' sins is through hard and constant labour. Obedient Surpluses can rise through the ranks at Grange Hall to become a "Valuable Asset" to society. Valuable Assets are allowed to go and work as servants in the homes of Legals (people who are not Surpluses).
Plot
The novel is set in the year 2140, with Anna Covey as the protagonist, who is nearly 15 years old and has lived in Grange Hall (a Surplus Hall) for most of her life. She was taken from her parents at the age of two. Anna has learned to "hate [her] parents" [3] for bringing her into the world, since she is a Surplus. Anna grows up believing that her parents hate her because it is her fault that they are imprisoned.
As part of her Pending process (through which she will become a Valuable Asset the moment she comes of age), Anna undergoes a work placement in the home of a Legal lady, Mrs. Sharpe, who is kind to her in a way to which Anna is not accustomed. Mrs. Sharpe allows Anna to take certain liberties that would earn her a beating if discovered by the staff at Grange Hall, such as offering [4] Anna her lipstick to try on. At the end of the placement, Mrs. Sharpe gives Anna a small diary made of pink suede, in which Anna writes every night. However, as "journals and writing [are] forbidden at Grange hall [because] Surpluses were not there to read and write [but] to learn and work", [4] Anna has to hide her diary [5] on a secret shelf in the side of the girls' bath.
Peter, a new arrival Surplus at Grange Hall, begins as just another chore for Anna. As one of the House Matron's most trusted Prefects, she is instructed to make up his bed and leave his supplies waiting for him. She thinks no more of Peter until he starts to cause problems for her. Peter tells dangerous stories about the world outside Grange Hall, and calls her "Anna Covey", [6] which he says is the name given to her by her parents. Peter tells Anna that her parents love her, and that they asked him to be captured so that he would be able to bring her home to them. Anna disregards everything that Peter says. She sees him as a troublemaker and believes things would be simpler if Peter would come to terms with his debt to Mother Nature (atone for his parents' sins).
Peter begins to convince Anna of his convictions after she is beaten savagely by Mrs. Pincent. Anna overhears Mrs. Pincent talking about how she has become 'brainwashed' and realizes that the House Matron does not care for her. Anna is not seen as a Valuable Asset, and life in Grange Hall becomes meaningless. In the same conversation, Anna learns of a plot to kill Peter, who is still having difficulty settling into Grange Hall life. She purposely misbehaves and gets herself put into Solitary (short for solitary confinement punishment in the Grange Hall) so she may communicate with Peter, and the two form the plan to escape "through a tunnel in Solitary," [7] which they very narrowly manage to execute.
On the run from Grange Hall, the children seek shelter in the garden shed of Julia Sharpe, the Legal who Anna served on her placement. Julia is frightened to discover Anna and Peter, but reluctantly harbors them and feigns ignorance when the search party comes to her door. Mrs. Sharpe helps Anna and Peter get out of the village and drives them to the outskirts of London. Later, however, she is pressured into giving them up to the Catchers (a group tasked with capturing runaway Surpluses).
Upon arrival at her parents' house in Bloomsbury, Anna realizes that Peter has been entirely truthful in his stories of her parents, and his claims that they love her. Anna's parents have longed for her return. At this point, Anna discovers she has an infant brother named Ben. She is overwhelmed with love for her family after her upbringing in the frigid sterility of Grange Hall.
When the children are discovered hiding beneath the floorboards by the authorities, whose search for the missing Surpluses leads them to the Coveys' door, Anna's parents commit suicide. There is a clause in The Declaration that explains that if a Surplus loses a parent then they become a Legal. The two deaths mean that neither Ben nor Anna is a Surplus any longer. Shortly afterward, Peter is informed by his grandfather (Richard Pincent) that his father has been killed by his mother, Margaret Pincent (the matron of Grange Hall), and that he is now also a Legal.
In the book's conclusion, Peter and Anna live together in her parents’ house. They decide to raise Ben, Anna's brother, as their own child. All three are now legal, and they begin a life of freedom outside of Grange Hall.
Reception
Reviewing the book in The Guardian, Diane Samuels criticized the writing, describing it as "prosaic" and "resorting to passages that tell the reader how it is rather than allowing the characters to live and breathe." Samuels found The Declaration emotionally shallow and politically simplistic, saying: "More complexity is needed to grapple meaningfully with the psychological impact of such a profound alienation between adults and children." [10] Nicolette Jones, writing in the Sunday Times, described the book as "[a] fine debut" and "convincing." [11]
The series is part of a larger trend of dystopian young adult literature, and has attracted scholarly attention. Susan Louise Stewart identifies a broad theme of futuristic Holocausts, drawing parallels from Malley's books to Lois Lowry's The Giver , Neal Shusterman's Unwind , and Suzanne Collins's The Hunger Games . [12] [13] Jennifer Ford identifies a similar theme of overpopulation motifs in young adult books, including the Declaration trilogy. [14]
