LIGHTHOUSE ISLAND by Paulette Jiles

Abandoned as a toddler, twenty-something Nadia Stepan embarks on a dystopian adventure in 2198, cleverly lying her way out of capture by the powers-that-be, who think that live executions on TV are suitable entertainment.  Water is the most precious commodity, with everyone suffering from dehydration and trying to subsist on their rationed quart per day.  Nadia is on a quest to reach Lighthouse Island, a resort advertised on TV.  Along the way, she meets James, a demolitions expert/cartographer in a wheelchair, and he immediately falls in love with her.  (Really)  Fortunately, he has connections that allow Nadia to switch identities with a prison counselor.  He also gives her a card that provides dispensation of food and drink from vending machines and gains her entry to various sites that would otherwise be off-limits.  Although the timeline of this book is completely sequential, it is hard to follow at times, particularly when it gets into the radio communications.  Plus, all of the characters except James and Nadia have very minor roles, and the plot feels sort of slapped together at times.  I did enjoy this novel to a degree, but it didn’t move me or teach me anything or raise compelling questions, except possibly about the disastrous state of the environment 200 years from now, and that’s no surprise.  In fact, I thought it was a bit unimaginative in that it doesn’t suggest major technological advances in communication and transportation.  Perhaps the author is suggesting that the oppressive, reactionary government has basically stifled all innovation.