Truancy

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

Wherever there is school, there will always be truancy.

Truancy is a trilogy of dystopian novels written by Isamu Fukui. Set in a totalitarian city ruled by its Mayor and Educators, the first book follows a fifteen-year-old student named Tack, and a student rebellion calling itself the Truancy. The story is dedicated "to everyone that has ever suffered in the name of education".

The books in the series are:

  • Truancy Origins (2007)
  • Truancy (2008)
  • Truancy City (2009)
Tropes used in Truancy include:

Gabriel: They think something supernatural is going on, that there's an exact opposite of you floating around the City attacking Truants. Someone even suggested that it's your evil twin.

  • Government Conspiracy: A lot of it in the first novel, but Isamu outdoes himself ten times over in the second novel, Truancy Origins where it's revealed that the rigid system of education and totalitarian government isn't just a way of crushing rebellion before it begins, but that the entire city is one giant government experiment, and that there are other cities out there like it, only testing different ways (AKA: styles of society and government) to "maintain order.
  • Green Eyes: Edward.
  • Growing Up Sucks: Oh so very much.
  • Heartbroken Badass: Umasi manages to avoid this after Milady leaves him, although he's not really sure he loves her anyway.
  • Heroic Albino: Milady, naturally.
  • Improbable Weapon User: Milady wields a chain with a weighted end.
  • Innocent Cohabitation: Umasi and Milady live together in District 19 for awhile.
  • I Owe You My Life: Noni considers Zyid her saviour and would die for him. Which leads everyone to wonder how she'll react when she finds out Tack killed him.
  • Kids Versus Adults: And how.
  • Luke, I Am Your Father: Zen and Umasi finding out that their adopted father is responsible for all their suffering.
  • The Man Behind the Man: Zyid and Umasi's real father. Their half-sister Iris may also count as this.
  • Meaningful Rename: Zen to Zyid, and Tack to Takan.
  • The Mole: Chris learns the hard way that selling out the Truancy is synonymous with suicide.
  • Moment Killer: Zyid walking in on Tack and Noni making out. To be fair, there was a huge battle about to go down.
  • Murder by Mistake: Zyid does this twice. The first time, he mistakes Red for an Enforcer and promptly discovers why you don't kill Umasi's friends. Two years later Suzie is blown up in a Truancy assassination, prompting Tack to join the Truancy and kill Zyid.
  • No Name Given: The albino girl, aka Milady.
  • Official Couple: Tack and Noni.
  • One-Letter Name: Zyid used to call himself Z.
  • Parental Favoritism: It's implied that the Mayor preferred Zen to Umasi.
  • The Runaway: Zen takes off to begin the Truancy after he finds out the truth about the Mayor. Umasi follows him to try and stop him. He fails.
  • Scarf of Asskicking: Noni wears one to cover her scar.
  • Serious Business: Don't get us started.
  • Set Right What Once Went Wrong: The only reason Umasi agrees to fight Edward.
  • She Is Not My Girlfriend:

Zyid: Her name is Noni. You might call her my assistant.
Umasi: I never thought you the type to show off for a girl. Will I be invited to the wedding?
Zyid: Oh, now you're trying to make fun of me.