Storytorch Press
May 2023
ISBN: 9780645191554
RRP: $17.95
Audio Interview with Cate @ Living Arts Canberra
More years ago than I care to remember, I was a subscriber to, and devotee of Grass Roots magazine. I pretty much daydreamed constantly about having the kind of life that Hannah finds herself in when she and her great-grandmother, Libby, move from their long-time home in the city to her Uncle Jarod and his family, way out in the country.
The community is where, long ago, Libby and her husband built their house, and also dreamed of an alternative lifestyle. After the great Change, of climate instability, pandemics and other catastrophes, those who had already adopted the slow life principles were no longer considered ‘odd’. Now it is only the older people like Libby who remember the Before.
Alternative energy, community gardens and co-ops, houses protected from the weather extremes, online learning, reduce/reuse/recycle is of paramount importance, and communal living have all become the new norm.
Hannah is used to this in the city but dreads the way it will work in the country with unknown family, especially a cousin with whom she must share a room, and living in a berm house.
Wren is wandering from high in the mountains where he lived a nomadic and subsistence life with Old Man. The old man had found him alone and taken care of him ever since, teaching him how to live off the land, and when he knew his time on the earthly plane was coming to an end, sent Wren to find other people and a safe haven.
How these two young people meet, bond, and help each other – both adapting gradually to a new existence makes for fascinating and page-turning reading. Cate describes the novel as ‘solarpunk‘ climate fiction, and I love that term for this book. Some might think the premise would suggest dystopia but far from it. This is a truly positive and uplifting take on a possible future, which young people would embrace, particularly those who are already doing their part as mini eco-warriors, enviro-activists and wilders.
Read Better Reading’s Q&A with Cate here. I absolutely loved it from start to finish and would highly recommend it to readers from around 9/10 upwards but, thinking of Year 6 kiddos with whom I’ve worked, those units of inquiry into sustainability, alternative energies and so on, would make this a truly excellent ‘read-around-your-topic’ title. Cate has supplied some useful teaching notes as well.
Just So Stories 
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