Every part of the definition is as important as any other; and if a child doesn't come within it, then it isn't human, and that means it doesn't have a soul.
John Wyndham's The Chrysalids describes a futuristic society where some sort of environmental apocalypse severed ties with the past and few areas have been re-settled, most notably the land of Labrador. Here, nine children discover they have an ability that marks them as different and different is the last thing they want to be.
David Strorm is the son of a powerful and deeply religious man who reveres the word of the two surviving books from the Old People: the Bible and Nicholson's Repentances. These books decree man must be made in the true image of God or else he is an abomination. The same can be said of animals or vegetation and inspectors closely watch the civilized areas for any signs of mutation that must be eliminated.
The Chrysalids forces us to examine our beliefs about authority and asks us to challenge the norms we take for granted in our society. The message is one of tolerance and the book will interest men and women ages 14 and up.
The details:
Wyndham, John. The Chrysalids. Toronto: Penguin, 1955.
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