The Engine Driver by Tracy Marchini

Synopsis: Sixteen-year-old Brig has never been allowed to hear a sad song in her entire life.

Like everyone else in her community, the personal Playlist Treatment Plan that plays in her head is designed to control her emotions - from when she's happy or sad, to when she falls in love. But for Brig, who suffers from depression, a song in a minor key will never be played.

When her friend, Annaby, is chosen to go to Musician’s School and is given a Permit to Carry a musical instrument, Brig knows that she has just this one chance to hear a sad song, a love song – or a song that matches what her depression feels like, instead of what her feelings should be.

The Engine Driver is a short story set in an unusual dystopian society, where music is strictly controlled for each individual to restrict their moods and keep them happy; Bridget feels depressed, so she is not allowed to hear any sad songs and wishes she could. However, given that they apparently have the power to 'wipe' a person's personality, I did wonder why they needed the music to control it?

As a short story there isn't a great deal of time for character development, but in a way that is fitting because most characters aren't really developing other than as controlled by the music. My first thought after finishing the story was that I wanted to see more of this strange world; the ending left more questions than it answered and I did feel that there could be more to tell. However, I think that was because I didn't quite understand it the first time, and reading the story through again the ending made more sense to me.

Ultimately I liked the story and it was well written but the ending didn't quite work for me. There is also a strange switch from present to past tense around the end of the second page; I'm not sure whether that was intentional to separate the party atmosphere of those pages from the rest of the story, but if it was then again it didn't quite work.

Rating: 4 stars out of 5.

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