The Diary of Pelly-D

In a society founded centuries ago by settlers from planet Earth, the official line is that there is no racism in this brave new world despite genetic differences between the Atsumisi, the Mazzini and the Galrezi. Confident, rich and gorgeous, 14-year-old Pelly D is ‘Queen Bee’ of her class and politics is not something that interests her, especially boring arguments on TV from the Heritage Clan about gene tagging and water shortages. Why should she care?

Written in the form of a diary, Pelly D’s account charts the gradual changes that impinge upon her carefree life. Gene tagging becomes mandatory and to her surprise she discovers that she is a Galrezi (no epi-gene), not, as she had imagined, an Atsumisi, one of the most prestigious group. With a green micro-cellular stamp permanently on her hand, Pelly D finds her life of privilege eroded – first her family have to move from their splendid flat to a squalid block, then she is no longer entitled to go to school. Meanwhile fellow Galrezis are drafted and, mysteriously, do not return. In a bitter twist, Pelly D’s Atsumisi father abandons his family…

Inspired by Anne Frank’s Diary of a Young Girl, Adlington creates a most convincing portrait of a lively, funny girl whose zest for life is undiminished by the increasingly sinister turn of events around her. Her eventual fate is deduced by the young man who comes upon her diary some years later and forces him to begin to open his eyes to the world he lives in. In this powerful debut novel, Adlington deftly sketches in the background to Pelly D’s increasingly totalitarian world, whilst allowing her sparky heroine centre stage.