Yoshi and his sister, Saachi, are forced to grow up quickly - thanks to their irresponsible mother. Soon enough, a boy named Frito finds Yoshi and gives him a note. The next thing Yoshi knows, he is a member of The Colony. At last, Yoshi feels he has more people in his life to whom he can relate and trust, other than his sister, of course. Members of The Colony share a common suffering, and each of them must do something about it to set them free. With the help of a mysterious neighbor and a dubious street-sleeper friend, Yoshi and Saachi accomplish their goal. The Colony by Nanette L. Avery is a dark young adult read that is sure to perplex your thinking and captivate your imagination.

The Colony by Nanette L. Avery has a very interesting plot. I have never read anything like this before and I'd like to commend the author for such an authentic and fresh concept. I like reading books with dark themes but this is definitely a new kind of dark. To be honest, the whole idea is so new to me that I found it weird and a little bit uncomfortable to read at first, but it got exciting and more understandable as I read along. Trigger warnings include drugs/alcohol, profanity, animal deaths, murder, hazing, and dysfunctional parents. I highly recommend The Colony by Nanette L. Avery to lovers of YA mystery and suspense.

The Colony by Nanette L. Avery is a book demanding the reader’s attention from the outset. Although it tells the story of two early adolescent children in the inadequate care of a drug-addicted, cannabis-dealing mother, it deals with a strange reality that unfolds as the short novel progresses. Slightly in the style of a bildungsroman, the plot centers on the growing understanding of the early teenage youth that the adult morality surrounding his existence is faulty, and that he is almost obliged to do something about it. He meets boys his own age who seem to share his problem and, desperate for adult contact he can trust, he admits a homeless man into his life. A fascinating irony is built into the plot in the character of a neighbor, who could possibly help the boy and his sister deal with their circumstances if he himself was willing to accept responsibility for other human beings—which he is not.

The Colony is cleverly structured, and although the plot is based on psychological darkness, there is humor and light to be found in unexpected places. Annette L. Avery knows how to use detail—even to describing the contents of a garbage can—as a highly effective tool in the development of the storyline, and the full truth about the boy’s young friends and the colony they have created is held in suspense throughout the novel, to be revealed at the climactic moment. While not being exactly the kind of story for standard holiday reading, nor one for dealing with the ethics of social issues, The Colony is one of those stories which may be remembered after the book itself has been closed.