The Panopticon

May 13, 2013
After an altercation with authorities leaves an officer in a coma, 15-year-old Anais Hendricks finds herself shuttled off to the Panopticon, a care center for young, chronic offenders modeled after the prison designs of English philosopher Jeremy Bentham. Amid the institution’s crescent-shaped buildings and all-seeing watchtower, Anais befriends a group of ragtag ruffians and delves into her past, endlessly stoned and concerned she’s being watched by an entity she calls “the experiment.” Fagan’s debut, voiced in a frenetic, robust Scottish inflection, weaves together mystery and coming-of-age elements to create a tale filled with dread and humor. Though Anais tries to clear her name and remember what transpired between her and the injured officer (she was under the influence at the time) the novel dwells less on her fate and finds stronger focus on the bonds between residents. Fagan constantly fluctuates between scenes of distress—as when a stoned resident leaps from a window—and scenes of typical teenager behavior: smoking, dating, debating about superpowers, and playing Truth or Dare? Anais’s story is one of abandonment, loss, and redemption, well suited for a paranoid age in which society finds itself constantly under the microscope. Agent: Wylie Agency.

June 15, 2013

The police in Midlothian, Scotland, have decided that 15-year-old Anais Hendricks is responsible for putting an officer into a coma. Anais never knew her mother and has lived "in care" her entire life. She has developed numerous coping skills, including a tough exterior, a willingness to use violence, and a taste for drugs. Anais lands in the Panopticon, a spooky former prison where all cells are visible from a central point. In this refurbished youth home, she meets other troubled teens with whom she quickly bonds. Their various issues include self-harm, HIV, and casual prostitution. The grand question is, will Anais survive a nightmarish personal betrayal and avoid lockdown? Scotland-born writer and poet Fagan (twice nominated for the Pushcart Prize, short-listed for the Dundee International Book Prize, and named one of Granta's Best of Young British Novelists in 2013) debuts a captivating narrative whose pervasive profanity and colorful Scottish dialect combine to form evocative descriptions of mental and physical struggle. Anais's ongoing internal dialog, her periodic reimagining of her life and situation, is enthralling. VERDICT James Kelman's How Late It Was, How Late meets Ken Kesey's One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest. Not to be missed.--Henry Bankhead, Los Gatos Lib., CA

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from June 1, 2013
Anais Hendricks, the tough, fiery 15-year-old at the center of Fagan's first novel, has grown up in the foster care system in England. Abandoned by her mother, who gave birth to her in a mental institution, Anais has been bounced around ever since the murder of Theresa, a compassionate prostitute and the only mother figure Anais has ever known. Anais is brought to the Panopticon, a halfway house for truant teens, after she's accused of brutally beating a police officer and leaving her in a coma. Anais, who was hopped up on drugs at the time, can't remember whether she's guilty or not. The police are gunning for her, determined to send Anais to juvenile detention until she's 18. At the Panopticon, Anais is convinced she's being watched as part of a sinister experiment, the purpose of which, she believes, is to try to bring her down and all but eradicate her from society. Told in Anais' raw voice, Fagan's novel peers into the world inhabited by forgotten children, and, in Anais, gives us a heartbreakingly intelligent and sensitive heroine wrapped in an impossibly impenetrable exterior. Readers won't be able to tear themselves away from this transcendent debut.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)