I have read other books by this author so when this one crossed my screen, I was intrigued.  Since the author is a librarian, her books always have the authentic feel of knowing her audience. 

The main character is a young woman from New Zealand dealing with school, friends, parents, all the normal high school girl issues.  However, Madeleine also has a strong desire to be an activist for climate change.  There are a few near-futuristic aspects to this story and natural issues helping reinforce this theme but at the same time give the reader various views to help determine their opinion. 

This is a coming-of-age tale, with Madeleine showing the immature/mature aspects of most 18 year olds who are intelligent but not yet seasoned by the relationships around them.  A childhood friend, Chris provides a steady and reasonable element that helps Madeleine determine her path. 

A delightful quick read, this book can also easily be considered a YA Christian Fiction.

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SUMMARY

Betrayed by those she trusted, banished to a small town. Can a childhood friend help her find hope in a burning world?

Madeleine’s climate change activism has her at loggerheads with her widowed Grandpa. The world’s weather is extreme, and she fears we may be past the tipping point. Maddy’s petrolhead boyfriend, Liam, doesn’t see things her way, and her best friend, Mia, has a secret crush on him.

After an act of defiance, Maddy’s parents send her to spend the holidays apart from Liam, with Grandpa, in small-town New Zealand. He lives in an isolated villa on MacTaggart Hill. She begins to understand Grandpa’s generation when she reads his manuscript, but their relationship is erratic. On a lonely horse ride, she meets a childhood friend, Christopher, who is on a mission to save the local wetland from development. He may be the friend she needs when the village experiences a series of devastating climate-related events and her relationships are falling apart. But can she depend on him?

A Young Adult, Cli-Fi (climate change fiction) with family drama and a romantic subplot, by the author of Trainsurfer, Saving Thandi and Nikau’s Escape. The story is threaded through with Christian themes.