PASSIONATE ABOUT SCHOOL LIBRARIES

Tag: Food shortages

Book Review: When We Are Invisible

When We Are Invisible – Claire Zorn – The Sky So Heavy #2 – University of Queensland Press – Published 30 March 2021

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Synopsis

In the midst of a nuclear winter, Lucy, Fin and Max flee the chaos of Sydney with blood on their clothes, a gun and handwritten directions to safety. When they reach Wattlewood, it seems like their struggle to survive might be over. There is food, warmth and adults in charge. So why can’t Lucy shake the feeling they’re still in danger?

Lucy’s survived the apocalypse, but can she escape a more insidious threat?

My thoughts

I am proud to be sharing this review as part of the AusYABloggers review tour. You can find the tour on the AusYABloggers website.

When We Are Invisible is the sequel to The Sky So Heavy. Published eight years after the first book, some might say this is a very long awaited sequel. It doesn’t disappoint.

Readers are reunited with Lucy, Max and Fin. When We Are Invisible picks up where The Sky So Heavy left off. Lucy, Fin and Max are running for their lives. Fleeing the bloodshed and horror of Sydney, they head for the hope of safety and food at the Wattlewood commune. Finally surrounded by enough food and water, safety, blessed warmth and adults who are taking a stand to protect them, things at Wattlewood are good. But Lucy isn’t sure everything is as safe as it appears.

While When We Are Invisible is a continuation of The Sky So Heavy’s story, it is its own book. The first book was written from Fin’s perspective, while in the sequel, Lucy takes over the narration. It is amazing to see the world through her eyes. We learn more about her family and the life she left behind, as well as the events that haunt her and the things are troubling her now. It creates a different perspective and a different focus for the story.

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Book Review: The Dog Runner

The Dog Runner – Bren MacDibble – Allen and Unwin Children’s – Published 4 February 2019

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Synopsis

Ella and her brother Emery are alone in a city that’s starving to death. If they are going to survive, they must get away, upcountry, to find Emery’s mum. But how can two kids travel such big distances across a dry, barren, and dangerous landscape? Well, when you’ve got five big doggos and a dry-land dogsled, the answer is you go mushing. But when Emery is injured, Ella must find a way to navigate them through rough terrain, and even rougher encounters with desperate people…

My thoughts

What a superb, beautifully written book. Thought-provoking and action filled, The Dog Runner is an Australian, middle grade novel that is dystopian fiction at its finest. This will be sure to please teen readers and make for a fantastic class novel.

I loved every page of this book. I was a little worried about the dogs. As a dog lover, I don’t usually read books about dogs – I can’t handle any injuries or death. I am very happy to say (any maybe it’s a spoiler, but I think it’s important to share) that aside from a small injury none of the dogs are harmed or die. This book has a dog-happy ending. Can’t say the same for some kangaroos, snakes, possums or other small creatures. For those who don’t like hunting or animal deaths, there are quite a few descriptions of killing and preparing animals for food. It’s done with care, but with details.

MacDibble presents a society and world in which grass crops have all failed and animal farming has been destroyed. People in the cities and suburbs are fighting for food, waiting for deliveries from the government that aren’t coming. People are looting and rioting and gangs are roaming.

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