Juno Of Taris

 

Juno Of Taris
Fleur Beale

"On Taris we shave our heads. No, that's wrong. On Taris, we have our heads shaved for us."

Juno is a girl who has grown up on Taris. Taris was the brainchild of a 21st century scientist. Take a small, windswept island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, put a fully enclosed dome over it, stock its waters with fish, give it a balmy climate and put some people on it to survive. When Taris was formed, it was a social experiment, as well as survival and perhaps even the future of what mankind was to be like.

But somewhere along the line, the communication stopped, and the people were left to survive on their own. Juno is one of the children of Taris. When the book starts, Juno is 11 and the most inquisitive and disobedient girl on Taris. All Juno wants is to be free, grow her hair and wear something other than the linen tunics all people of Taris wear. She wants to be able to express herself, but this causes people to withdraw and turn their backs from her, leaving her alone.

However on Taris, using your energy for anything other than learning and surviving by helping in the community is banned. There are exactly 500 people on Taris, when one dies, a couple is allowed to have a child, usually from outside genetic stock. Taris is ruled over by the Governance Companions, Lenna and her husband Hilto, Majool, Cammoon, and the leader, Fisa. Nothing goes by without their consent, not even what the new children are to be named.

Juno feels trapped, and rightly so. Taris on the surface seems to be a happy, perfectly functioning island, able to support itself, but the history is deep, and dark. Secrets have been kept and pacts made to keep the truth hidden. The more Juno questions her freedom and lifestyle, the closer she becomes to discovering the truth. This makes her a target and a threat. Will Juno find out the truth about Taris, or will she be targeted before she even gets too deep?

Juno of Taris is a brilliant, well written page turner of a book set over 2 years on the island of Taris. I would recommend it to anybody, anywhere in the world, wherever you may be, as it applies to all generations and cultures. Try and get this NZ book if you can, search for it online, it will be well worth the shipping and handling fees. The story is a page turner and tells the story of a tightly knit community who doen't even know the truth about their own existance. Read it. Tell me what you think.

 

Until next time,

Atra du evarinya ono varda,
(May the stars watch over you)

Samantha.