Terra Electrica

LoveReading4Kids Says

July 2024 Debut of the Month

First novel in Antonia Maxwell’s Terra Electrica trilogy, The Guardians of the North is an absolute treasure. Set in the near-future, when the Arctic’s ice caps have melted, this is dystopian fiction at its finest, with lyrical folkloric flair to the writing, and ecological themes threaded through the enchanting action-packed story.

As for the story, we meet our remarkable protagonist, 12-year-old Mani, wishing “more than ever that her father would return”. She and her dad have been alone in the world since the terrible Terra Electrica disease claimed her mother’s life, along with most of the population. The disease lives within, and feeds on the electric current that “all healthy humans have naturally inside them”. And now Mani is utterly alone as the “polar night had descended, and the sun had dipped below the horizon where it would stay for a whole month”.

Little wonder then, that Mani turns to the special mask her mother had promised would be hers one day, when she was old enough. Reasoning she is now old enough, Mani tries on the mask, and discovers the other world her mother had spoken of — a world “filled with life and love and stories. Every human on earth has a guide there. And every human will pass there when their time here is done. The guide you find is the guide you need.” Mani finds her guide, and on returning to the real world, she also finds out she might possess the power to save humanity. First though, she must embark on a treacherous journey, traversing perilous quicksand and rubbish-strewn landscapes that used to be covered in ice.

Driven by a thrilling, edge-of-your-seat quest, and laced with love, loss, magic and hope, The Guardians of the North is a gripping, thought-provoking triumph. And, given that it ends with the promise that Mani’s “biggest adventure is yet to come”, I cannot wait for the second book in the trilogy.

Joanne Owen

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