Scored by Lauren McLaughlin.

Scored by Lauren McLaughlin.

Information.
Pages: 240.
Publication: October 25th 2011/Random House Books for Young Readers.


"Set in the future when teenagers are monitored via camera and their recorded actions and confessions plugged into a computer program that determines their ability to succeed. All kids given a "score" that determines their future potential. This score has the ability to get kids into colleges, grant scholarships, or destroy all hope for the above.Scored's reluctant heroine is Imani, a girl whose high score is brought down when her best friend's score plummets. Where do you draw the line between doing what feels morally right and what can mean your future? Friendship, romance, loyalty, family, human connection and human value: all are questioned in this fresh and compelling dystopian novel set in the scarily forseeable future."


Review.
Scored. Wow, Scored is one of those Young Adult books, I believe should be put on Required Readings list in school. Not because it was well written (it was really well written by the way) or anything like that, but because it shows morality and ethics in show an interesting light. Will we take technology too far? 


Scored is set in Somerton, a poor town with very little employment. The town is now a trial city for the Score Corporation. That means, nearly everywhere you go, they are small black balls hanging everywhere, calculating your every movement, words and decisions. Scores are based on five things known as 'fitness':
Peer Group - who you associate with matters - the safest bet - hang with similar scores. Impulse Control - what you say and do is important - rationalize first as well as Congruity, Diligence and Rapport.
For people with a high score, they have a future; a chance at college and a career. Low scores and the unscored are lucky if they get a menial jobs.


Imani LeMonde is scored in the 90's and her best friend, Cady, is in 70's but a pact in middle school is what keeps their friendship alive. However when Cady does something, her score plummets and she brings Imani's score with her. Now in the 60's, Imani dreams of college seem long over unless she can win an essay competition open to everyone, scored or unscored, for a scholarship of $40,000. 


Enter Diego Landis, an unscored who is equally intelligent as Imani and also vying to win the essay. Now Imani has to make sure she wins the competition, not get caught as she is creates a new career for herself as a spy, all while losing her best friend - what more could happen? As Imani fight with inner struggles, betrayal and feelings she shouldn't have, Scored is anything but boring. 


When I began Scored first, Imani bothered me and I just didn't know why but once I finished the book I knew why. At the start, Imani's thought were not her own, they were practically implanted in her so that she kept her score. However, as the book goes on, we see Imani growing into her own thoughts and how she begins to understand both the positives and negative of Scores. By the end of the book, I really liked Imani.
Diego Landis is a great character. I loved him. He was interesting and intelligent but his troubles lie in his problem with authority. 
Iamni and Diego make a great pair as they bounce of each other with interesting debates and witty retorts.


Although Scored holds no major plot other than Imani debating whether Score is right or wrong nor does it have a true turning point, it is still a fantastic book. I still have some questions I want answered about Imani as well. It's short and I read it in three hours, mainly because I couldn't put it down. A must read for everyone!


Rating: 4.5/5.