genre: young adultImagine our world if the ice caps really do thaw - what would it be like? What would we do to survive when we see the ocean creep up to the places we love? In Exodus, the cities and land that we know are now deep underwater and in the commencing chaos, Mara's ancestors settled on the tip of the island of Wing. As yearly storms rage and the water rises, her community realizes that soon there will be nothing left - and Mara has a crazy idea that might save them all.
What a plot! This post-apocalyptic story takes us all over the place, from ocean-bound islands to cities in the sky, Mara's search for a safe refuge will require a strength she's never needed before. It stretches the imagination a little bit and despite the narration feeling a teensy bit stagnant at times, I really enjoyed the people she meets and the tough decisions she makes. I really liked those glimpses that she gets of OUR life and what it really tells about us.
While the love interest didn't really blossom in this book (it actually fell a little short) I have a feeling it will continue in the next one. The book is full of ethical questions that I think would lend itself to an interesting discussion among young people. I've found myself thinking about this one when I'm not reading it, which is a sure sign that it's captured my attention. I'm glad I've got the sequel already out from the library!
book 3 of 8 for the Orbis Terrarum Challenge
3 comments:
It sounds like this book might make you think about global warming, among other things.
Exodus is set in the year 2099, when the Earth has all but drowned and only a few islands remain habitable. Mara is confined to her fast-disappearing island home of Wing, which is ravaged by fierce storms and an ever-dwindling supply of food, and where every night she escapes into a virtual world known as the Weave. One night, she discovers ‘proof’ of the mythical Sky Cities – entire cities that rose into the sky and kept their inhabitants safe from the flooded world below – and sets about convincing everyone of their existence, keeping secret the fact that she only discovered their existence from a talking fox, who may or may not be an enemy… She convinces the community to set sail on a terrifyingly dangerous journey to find these Sky Cities; but what will they find there?
I really wasn’t sure about this book at first – the blurb made it sound a teensy bit corny and when I started reading it, there wasn’t much of a story (in fact, the story doesn’t really kick off until about 75 pages to the end) and the present tense in which it is written takes a bit of getting used to – but I was intrigued by this incredibly detailed future that Bertagna had created and was interested to know what would happen when the story did kick off; and boy, am I glad I did! Not to say that there was no story before the ‘pick up the pace’ point – the book was beautifully written throughout and those pages were quite vital to the plot of the story, as well as essential in making connections with the characters in the book.
The characters are all really well developed and you genuinely care about them when horrible things happen to them. You also really feel for them and their situation – after all, the book in set just 90 years away, in a world that struggles to survive because of extreme flooding; a world that is frighteningly likely to happen and it could be our great-grandchildren that live in the nightmare-world, making it an eye-opening, powerful read.
An exceedingly beautifully written and thought-provoking read. I cannot wait to read the rest of the trilogy!
Exodus Review
Exodus is a gripping book. It is a memorable book. I could not put it down. But sometimes describes too much and there is not much action.
Mara’s island is drowning. Is there any hope for the people of Wing? She meets a mysterious fox in the weave. He tells her of a forgotten town in the sky. Will they get there?
I would recommend this book to girls 11+! This is a book you must read!
I rate it 4.5 stars!
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