February 2011, MacMillan Children's Books
368 pages, Paperback
Review copy
Children's, Dystopian
Living with the enemy, a world in ruin, extremely high tech technology, darker side of humans, survival, friendships, family, sense of belonging, lots of tense moments, tissues needed
Summary by PanMacMillan
Sixteen-year-old Mara and her ship of refugees are tracking the North Star, desperate to find a homeland in the melted ice mountains of Greenland. The vast, floating city of Pomperoy is just one of the shocks that are not in their navigation plans. Unwittingly, the refugees bring catastrophe in their wake for Tuck, a gypsea pirate-boy, and also for Ilira - a land whose inhabitants exist in a state of terror at the top of the world.
Back in the drowned ruins at the feet of the towering sky city, Fox is beginning his battle with the cruel, corrupt forces that rule the New World. But separated from Mara, his resolve begins to waver . . .
Nayuleska's reasons for loving Mara....now she starts acting a bit differently to me, but only a little. I wanted to reach out and hug away her emotional pain.
How evil/nasty is the enemy? Pretty evil - sometimes the enemy is Mara's own people, which makes it harder than having a totally hate-worthy figure. You can't escape the people you live with.
Are there plenty of plot twists and surprises? As many as the previous book, maybe more so - when a huge one that changes Mara's life dramatically occurs, I really had missed where it happened in the first book. I re-read it, but it's very subtly written, keeping the focus rightly on the disaster in hand.
One of my favourite parts was...when something very special happens to Mara. It was such a sweet moment.
I give this 9/10 - one of the viewpoints used at the end was random and pulled me out of the story a little.
Find out more about Julie on her website.
Suggested reads
Make sure you've read book one, Exodus
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