It is a young adult novel, but don't let that stop you, the issues are adult. David Strorm is the main protagonist, a young man who lives in a fanatical religious community, who is able to send telepathic messages to others like him. His farming village is very traditional. Their traditions include death or banishment for anyone who isn't "perfect". Perfect people have no odd physical deformations, and no mental ones either.

When I recall that day, I can certainly think of many similar situations. Some that occurred more in my head than in the three-dimensional world, but some were unmistakably pronounced enough to be etched in my mind forever. What is it, I ask myself, that makes me different? Is it my height, my unplaceable accent or my beard that made me stand out? Perhaps it is the colour of my skin. Or maybe it is the fact that I speak other languages that remain as cryptic to those pub-goers as their silent inquisitiveness was to me. The oppressiveness and bigotry of the life David has always taken for granted begins to hit close to home for him after this incident. Because David, and several other of the kids in Waknuk, have a secret of their own. They have developed telepathic talents, and can communicate with one another, mind to mind, using images and words. It's not difficult to conceal, because it's not a readily visible abnormality, like an extra limb. But if the secret were to get out, it could prove even more dangerous to them. For how threatening would it be to the frightened fundamentalists who rule Waknuk if they knew there were blasphemies among them whom they couldn't tell just by looking at them? How high would fear and suspicion be ratcheted? With the exception of a few close calls — including a near betrayal by a girl among them desperate to be normal, who no longer wants to live a secret life — everything goes more or less smoothly until the birth of Petra, David's sister, whose mental powers are exponentially greater than any of theirs. Walton, Jo (27 October 2008). "Telepathy and Tribulation: John Wyndham's The Chrysalids". Tor.com . Retrieved 11 March 2017.

Aside from the disparaging remark about animals, whom I tend to respect more than I do humans as a species, this is such a damning view of us Old People, yet so spot-on. Even written in the 50s, it's clear that we as people and societies and other groups, are not learning. Most post-apocalyptic fiction, that I've read anyway, is entirely plausible (though Day of the Triffids is a bit odd in that respect): it's easy enough to follow the path we are on, all the paths, to their worst conclusion. What the people of Zealand are really saying is that communication leads to understanding leads to co-operation and can avert catastrophe. Davie lives in Labrador - at least, that's what they think the Old People called it - and at birth passed inspection. The Bible and a book written after the Tribulation, the Repentances, clearly outline what the True Form should be, and that Mutants are an abomination to God and Man. Even at a young age when none of this is really understood, though, he instinctively keeps his ability to think-speak with several other children in the area, including his half-cousin Rosalind, a secret. It is only as he grows older, especially after he loses his friend and playmate Sophie, whose parents have done all they can to hide the six toes on each of her feet, that he really begins to understand the dangers of being a Deviant. It is easy to imagine how this apoplectic setting could have created controversies at the time of its release because after all only a decade earlier the world had suffered World War II, and the horrors were still fresh. But what appalled me most is that even after five decades nothing has changed and people are still trying to overpower each other, still committing heinous crime against each other in the name of religion and superiority. Although David is physically normal, he, too, is a Blasphemy. David, along with a group of eight other people, has the ability to communicate telepathically, or through “thought-pictures.” When David is young, he is not aware of how dangerous this ability could be, but conversations with his Uncle Axel reveal that David would be persecuted for this gift. Uncle Axel is a kind and reasonable man who disagrees with many aspects of the Waknukian religion and supports David, even though it is illegal to do so. David’s father, Joseph, on the other hand, is an orthodox believer and is very willing to persecute anyone, family included, who deviates from the norm. In a post-nuclear-war society, life is restricted by radioactive no-go zones. Physical mutations are common, but, at least in the strict, religious, patriarchal village that is all young David has ever known, mutants - animal, vegetable or human - are ruthlessly weeded out. He's never questioned the morality he's been raised with - until the heavy hand of the law falls upon a childhood friend - and he realizes that he himself may be a new (and unprecedentedly dangerous) kind of mutant. Not only that, but his young sister, Petra, may share his mutation. He is not alone - but will a small group of young people be able to survive in the face of the firmly-held convictions of even their dearest friends and family?

So the novel's happy ending is tainted, because what you're left with is Petra, David, and Rosalind flying off to an idyllic future which is run by people no different than those they fled from—the only difference is, in this community, the kids happen to belong to the approved group.

But David comes to realize talking of dreams might have dire consequences since his village of Waknuk judges any eccentricity, any departure from the one, true proscribed way to be and act in this world as a defiance to God demanding the harshest punishment: banishment to the deadly wild fringes outside the village or being put to death, usually a protracted, agonizing death in public to serve as a warning for all to maintain the norm. John Wyndham's The Chrysalids anticipates and surpasses many of today's dystopian thrillers.... The Chrysalids explores intolerance and bigotry with satisfying complexity as it races toward an ending that is truly unpredictable.

David Strorm's father doesn't approve of Angus Morton's unusually large horses, calling them blasphemies against nature. Little does he realise that his own son, and his son's cousin Rosalind and their friends, have their own secret abberation which would label them as mutants. But as David and Rosalind grow older it becomes more difficult to conceal their differences from the village elders. Soon they face a choice: wait for eventual discovery, or flee to the terrifying and mutable Badlands. . .While The Day of the Triffids is Wyndham’s best known work, The Chrysalids is often cited as his best. It is not hard to see why. Beside being a fast paced thrilling story the underlying message of the story is also heartfelt. The book is clearly a metaphor for the plight of ethnic minorities and the disenfranchised. Compared to the other Wyndhams that I have read The Chrysalids is the most compassionate. The plea for tolerance is already evident early on in the book where the narrative focuses on a charming innocuous friendship between the outwardly normal David Strorm and a nice little girl called Sophie. Sophie is almost normal except for a small extra toe on each foot. Once her “deviancy” is discovered the friendship has to come to an abrupt end and she has to go on the run with her family. However, despite this rigid upbringing, David doesn't fully cooperate, and sometimes when he meets others who have a deviation he ends up helping them rather than turning them in. This may be due to the fact that David has his own sort of Deviation, something the adults of his community can't see, and it's something he has to keep hidden. His friends and sister, Rosalind, Petra, Rachel, Michael etc. are also going to be in trouble if he can't keep his secrets hidden... Rachel is the last remaining telepath in Waknuk after David, Rosalind and Petra depart to Zealand. As her own elder sister who was also a telepath had committed suicide earlier in the book, her possible fate of being left alone whilst the others depart carries even greater pathos. As an act of heroism, commitment and love, Michael remains behind with Rachel when they find out that the aircraft bringing the four of the telepaths to Zealand does not have enough fuel to also collect Rachel from Waknuk and get home again. He declares his intention to find some other way to come to Zealand with Rachel at some future time. If you've yet to savour THE CHRYSALIDS, a perennial front runner in the field of soft science fiction, I can't think of a better time than right now. Highly recommended indeed.