Julie Bertagna

Summary: In 2100, the Earth's ice caps have melted, the oceans have risen, and month-long fierce storms are the norm. The inhabitants of the tiny village island of Wing have moved further and further uphill as the seas rise, but there's no longer anywhere else to go. Fifteen-year Mara believes she has evidence of great sky cities built somewhere in the south, and even though the villagers are skeptical, they have no other choice - they head for the one they believe to be closest. However, show more once they get there, they find that the high-tech city has equally high security, and it isn't accepting new refugees. Now, it seems as though it will be up to Mara to find a way to get inside the city, and somehow save her people... and maybe the whole of humanity.

Review: I can't quite decide if this book is horrifically frightening, or upliftingly hopeful. Both, probably. Bertagna's vision of the future is terrifyingly plausible - indeed, she points out, it's already started, and we are standing on the precipice of that future. At the same time, Bertagna doesn't slip into hopelessness, or start lecturing us about how badly we're screwing up the planet - she just presents her vision of the future as she sees it, and I wound up spending a lot of the book asking myself "Is this inevitable? What will we do if this happens? What can we do to keep this from happening?" I think this book should be required reading in every freshman lit class in the world for exactly that reason - because it makes you think, and turns global warming from something that only Al Gore worries about into something much more immediate and personal.

I don't mean to give the impression that this is exclusively a "message" book - far from it. The story itself is very absorbing, and well-told, with sympathetic characters, lots of interesting twists and turns, and plenty of action. Like Scott Westerfeld's Uglies trilogy, on the surface level it reads as an exciting action story, with all of the social commentary tucked down in the cracks - not so much that you have to go hunting for it, but just enough that it's enjoyable on a variety of levels. I wasn't blown out of the water (heh, sorry) by the writing - I tend not to like books written in the present tense without a clear reason for it, and while I can usually tune it out, there were times when it was intrusively noticeable - but for the most part, it was innocuous. Anyways, this isn't a book you should read for the writing, it's a book you should read for the story - and for the message. 4 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: If you liked Uglies, you'll find this one in much the same vein. For everyone else, I'd still recommend giving this one a shot: it's a highly entertaining and compulsively readable story on an interesting - and important - topic. show less

It’s 2100 and Mara’s island home has been steadily shrinking for years with the melting of the polar ice caps and the rising of the oceans – very soon, there will be nothing left. Mara learns of a nearby sky city called New Mungo via her cyber adventures on the “weave” and convinces her fellow islanders to set sail for this beacon of hope. But when they arrive, they are faced with a huge barrier wall, a desperate refugee camp and a police force that brutally shoots at approaching show more boats. If New Mungo won’t take them in, where will they go?

EXODUS is a very ambitious novel with 3 very distinct and stunningly realized settings: a drowning island in the North Atlantic, the high-tech sky city of New Mungo, and a shadow world beneath New Mungo where a few relics of the past, including a cathedral and a university, still exist.

Mara is the kind of fearless and determined teen necessary for such a novel. She’s a leader wherever she goes, and even the subject of a mysterious prophecy known as “the stone telling” which tells of a girl who leads victims of the rising sea level to salvation.

On the surface, it’s a great action story about surviving at any cost. Dig a little deeper and you are keenly aware of what those costs are. When you can’t save everyone, who do you choose to save? And then, how do you live with your choice? If you are the architects of New Mungo, you do it by banishing the past and living for the “power of now”. If you are a resident of the shadow world, you do it by burying the past, and fervently believing that an outside force will come someday to set things right. And if you are Mara…well, that’s something I’m sure the sequels ZENITH (out now) and AURORA (no set release date) will explore. show less

A very readable story, that posits a world devastated by the floods and storms that follow the melting of the polar icecaps, and poses a number of disconcerting questions as we follow a young girl's coming of age and attempt to improve circumstances for herself and her society.

If circumstances forced us to try to rebuild our society from the ground up, I wondered on reading this book, would we end up making the same mistakes all over again? To what extent are we as people culpable for the show more actions of our government?

Bertagna sensitively and thought-provokingly demonstrates the way in which fear for our own continued well-being can blunt our ability to feel empathy and compassion for others, and the way in which growing up in a society that is relatively well-off can leave people preoccupied with their own concerns and prevent them from seeing the bigger picture.

An enjoyable and thought-provoking read, and (it probably should be added) nowhere near as preachy as this review probably makes it sound!! show less

"Feel the life around you and inside you." These are one of the many wise phrases from John Muir, and only one of the many treasures this fun story presents.

John Muir was a young boy, who grew up in Scotland. He tended to get distracted, especially by anything outdoors and wild. One day, his father makes an announcement—they're moving to America. As if the ship wasn't enough of an adventure, they also find themselves on an ox cart to Wisconsin. There, he discovers not only more about show more nature, but also about inventing. But then, this is only the beginning of his many adventures.

Written in graphic novel form, this is a book kids will easily pick up and flip through. The first chapter starts out with a young John Muir leading a very usual life in Scotland. Young readers will immediately sympathize with his days in school and be pulled in thanks to the precarious and funny predicaments he finds himself in. After these first scenes are set, the story grows richer and more entertaining as he continues to America, and the true adventure begins.

The tale surrounds a historical figure many readers haven't heard of before, and even though there are important historical moments and occurrences, none ever come across as boring or 'teachy'. The book makes sure that readers see the fun in life and living, along with the wisdom and knowledge that come with experience, by creating an exciting and enjoyable atmosphere on every page.

The illustrations add the right amount of fun, humor, and excitement. They flow very nicely with the text and are easy to follow. At the beginning of the book, the main figures are quickly introduced along with subtle but humorous quirks. At the end of the book, there's a concise chronology of the highlights from John Muir's life, a glossary for more difficult terms, and a short list of sources where the inspirations for this book came from.

This is a fun book which introduces readers to a very interesting, historical figure and is sure to drive boredom far away. show less