In a world where rules and blind obedience have taken the place of good judgment and compassion, there lives a girl named Little Fearless. She spends all her days in the Institution, where she’s taught to listen and obey. Problem is, as much as they try to teach it, she’s not really learning it. Little Fearless knows that she, and all the other nameless girls at the Institution, deserve something more: Families. And freedom. Of all the girls, Little Fearless has the guts to find a way.

Fearless is a dystopian parable, a rather one-dimensional story of courage and how one person’s faith can change everything. I liked it, liked the IDEA of it. I appreciated the arc of Little Fearless’ story but sometimes it fell into a sort of preachiness that disappointed me. Certainly there are echos of Nazi-ish hatred and enforced conformity as well as other dystopian fare. I did like how clean it was — and I think my 11-year-old daughter would be more receptive to the style than I was.

Rated: Mild for tweens, none for adult. There are two “a” words in the book and the storyline is a bit mature.