Wool by Hugh Howey

Whenever a student brings in a book they want me to read, I take up the challenge immediately. This year, I happened to get two right in a row from kids. The first, Wool, was brought to me by a student that's difficult to describe in a few sentences. She is friendly, kind, dramatic, enthusiastic, and gloomy in turns. Her moods change with the wind. One minute she will be bopping along to K-pop on her headphones, and the next she will be on the verge of tears, all wrapped up in one of the many dramas that seem to spring up around her constantly. One thing that is consistent about her, however, is her enthusiasm for a great story. She is a reader, and as such, I believed that this book she brought in for me would be entertaining.

Wool is set in a post-apocalyptic United States where some vague disaster has rendered the planet unlivable. The air and soil are completely toxic and standing outside for just a few minutes is enough to kill a person. As a result, humans had to move beneath the surface of the earth. Survivors packed themselves into a massive underground silo and established a new kind of community where they would raise their children, study science, and attempt to make enough technological advancements to come out of the silo and live outside again one day.

All of these events happened hundreds of years before the plot of Wool picks up, and the story focuses on the current generation of people living in the silo. Various political uprisings and data losses over the course of the silo's long history have resulted in many details of their history being completely lost, and the result of that loss of knowledge is the development of a ritualistic and strict set of beliefs and laws. People are not allowed to mention the Outside or express any kind of desire to explore it. They are not to question authority in the silo and must stay in the jobs they are assigned. Relationships between men and women are strictly regulated and reproduction is controlled by a lottery system to keep the population manageable. Anyone found in violation of these norms is punished by being sent to a "cleaning," which consists of the convicted person donning a sealed environmental suit and heading outside to scrub off the camera lenses that provide the silo with its only view of the outside world. The suits will only give the person protection for a few minutes-- just long enough to clean--  before they succumb to the toxins in the air and perish. The silo residents live in fear of being sent to a cleaning, so they obey the strict rules of their community. 

The plot of the novel kicks off with the sheriff of the silo, a man named Holston, purposefully sending himself to a cleaning. It's essentially committing suicide, and this choice baffles many residents of the silo, but everyone knows that asking questions is a sure way to get into trouble so they stay silent. The incident passes without much investigation or discussion. After Holston cleans the cameras and dies on the Outside, a new sheriff is selected. This new sheriff is a young woman named Jules. She comes from a section of the silo known as the "Down Deep." It's one of the deepest levels underground, and it's where important electrical equipment like the power generator and water pumping systems are located. She is a skilled mechanic with no law enforcement experience, but her work ethic and assistance on a previous case caught enough notice for her to be selected for the job. From the moment she takes the position, she notices several things about life in the silo that don't exactly add up. She quietly begins to investigate what she notices, and eventually takes a special interest in Holston's death. Her innate persistence and curiosity begin to lead her down a path of secrets, violence, and conspiracies that prove too irresistible to ignore. Wool is the story of Jules' quest for the truth of the silo, which she is determined to uncover despite the grave risks to her life.

This novel was extremely engaging. It's one of those classic dystopian adventure stories full of mysteries and plot twists that keep you guessing. The story was consistently interesting and the world of the silo was incredibly detailed and imaginative. I enjoyed trying to guess what was coming up next and theorizing about what was really going on behind the scenes. Happily, I wasn't able to figure out most of the plot points ahead of time, and was very entertained with each new revelation. Wool is, to put it simply, a very fun story. It's the kind of novel that you could use to pass the time on a plane or in a waiting room - it's easy to read and action-packed.

That being said, Wool did have a few weak points. Some of the supporting characters were a bit bland, and some sections of the novel dragged because of it. I liked Jules the most out of all the characters by far, but the narrative perspective hops around to different people quite a bit, and none of the others are as interesting as her. When the narration would shift to someone else, I found myself wishing to just get back to Jules already. At just over 500 pages, this is a lengthy read, and the less interesting sections made the pace feel overly slow sometimes. I also felt like some of the writing was a bit clumsy, with the romantic elements falling especially flat.

Despite those issues however, I still enjoyed my time with this novel. It reminded me of books like Divergent and The Hunger Games, but for a more mature audience. Any fans of dystopian fiction will find a lot to like in Wool. Beyond my personal enjoyment, I'm thankful to have a new topic to discuss with my student. Even better, now that I know which kinds of books she prefers, I can point her towards other stories she might like too. Sharing book recommendation and discussing stories with someone is a great way to develop a relationship, so I will most definitely continue to read what my students bring me in the future. Like this novel, they are usually winners. 


Challenge Tally
Total Books Read in 2018: 34