Atherton: the House of Power by Patrick Carman.
Youth Fiction– Lower Level - CARMAN
Atherton is a planet that has been created in an attempt to live in a peaceful, problem free world. The planet is divided into three levels: the highest level inhabited by the ruling upper class, the middle level inhabited by common workers, and the lower uninhabited level. Edgar, an orphan, is one of Atherton’s inhabitants who harvests figs. Edgar rebels and tries to escape his tedious daily life and embarks on the adventure to uncover Atherton’s buried secrets. Instead of living in the utopia that they imagined, all of the inhabitants, Edgar included, find themselves living in a nightmare as the world begins to collapse beneath their feet.
The hero is 12 years old, and the book is written for older children. However, many of the problems in the societal structure of Atherton are not all that dissimilar to our own, making it appropriate for older readers as well. Carman’s novel is an excellent choice for reading for pleasure or as a starting point for discussing differences in classes within a civilization.