LoveReading4Kids Says
LoveReading4Kids Says
July 2024 Book of the Month | Interest Age 9+ Reading Age 8
Set in a dystopian future in which the earth has become so polluted even the air is toxic, Alastair Chisholm’s thriller, like all the best sci-fi stories, is full of warnings about contemporary society.
Teenage Sparrow has already had to leave school to support her grandfather and little sister. She works as a courier, tearing round Edinburgh at top speed, relying on her hover skates and her bespoke tether to meet the specified delivery times. It’s not just food and rent the family need, oxygen must be paid for too, all supplied by big tech corporation Zephyr.
When Sparrow’s inventor friend discovers a way to purify air easily and cheaply, the obvious next step is to share it with Zephyr’s CEO. Can Sparrow make this potentially world-changing delivery, and who is out to stop her?
The story moves at the same pace as Sparrow weaving through the poisoned streets of Edinburgh, and there are just as many twists and turns before it reaches its breath-taking conclusion. Written for Barrington Stoke to be accessible to all readers, this delivers a big story in just 152 pages and gives readers so much to think about.
Andrea Reece
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About
Reek Synopsis
Climate catastrophe leaves the people of Earth fighting for oxygen in this gripping dystopian thriller from bestselling sci-fi author Alastair Chisholm.
Sparrow lives in the world after the Reek. The atmosphere is toxically polluted, and Axel Brodie, the tech billionaire behind Zephyr Industries, is cashing in as the only supplier of clean air. Sparrow is struggling to help her family survive until her brilliant inventor friend, Miriam Fenn, comes up with a new form of technology that could break Zephyr's stranglehold on the air supply.
But men like Brodie are hard to defeat, and he will do everything in his power to stop Miriam and Sparrow.
Who will triumph in this battle to breathe?
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9781800902589 |
| Publication date: |
18th July 2024 |
| Author: |
Alastair Chisholm |
| Illustrator: |
George Caltsoudas |
| Publisher: |
Barrington Stoke Ltd an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers |
| Format: |
Paperback |
| Pagination: |
144 pages |
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Press Reviews
Alastair Chisholm Press Reviews
'This dystopian thriller ... is stripped back to the bare bones of the plot and is all the better for it; this is an unforgettable, pulsating thriller that readers will inhale.' - The Bookseller, Editor's Choice
'Fast-paced, thrilling and scarily real in its concept of mass-selling clean air (we already buy bottled water!). The book is so good it leaves you gasping for more!' - Chris Bradford
'Great world-building, brilliant characters, awesome action, cool gadgets, and a timely message all in super-readable fast-paced format.' - Dan Smith
'Fun, pacy and packed with action while incorporating some great commentary on corporations and environmentalism.' - Darren Simpson
Author
About Alastair Chisholm
Alastair Chisholm is the bestselling author of the sci-fi adventures Orion Lost, Adam 2 and The Consequence Girl, as well as the fantasy Dragon Storm series. Orion Lost was shortlisted for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, the James Reckitt Hall Children’s Book Award, the Biblio Buzz Award, the Inspire ELS Book Awards and the 2021 Sakura Medal Award.
As a puzzle creator Alastair wrote quite a lot of books of Sudoku and other puzzles for kids and grown-ups.
Alastair lives in Edinburgh with his wife (who is lovely), two teenagers (who are lovely but very loud), and a cat named Maudie, who is yowling at him even though there is clearly food in her bowl, look, it's right there, look. His hobbies include writing and playing games on his phone when he should be writing.
More About Alastair Chisholm
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A note from the author, Alastair Chisholm;
“I’m so excited to be part of Barrington Stoke’s mission to bring the joy of reading and storytelling to everyone. Reek is an adventure story set in a future poisoned by pollution, where people have to pay even for the air they breathe, and a tiny group of billionaires controls the whole world (an idea that may sound worryingly plausible). I wanted to write about how that would feel, but I also wanted an exciting story, with a kick-ass hero, Sparrow – a young hover-booted courier written off by society but ready to change the world. And as a comics lover, I’m very lucky to be working with artist George Caltsoudas on this project. His illustrations are electrifying and really leap off the page – I can’t wait to show them off!”
A note from the editor, Ailsa Bathgate;
“Reek is the brilliant dystopian novel I’ve been longing to bring to our readers, masterfully crafted by Alastair Chisholm. He has managed to pack so much into our short word count, combining a gripping, action-packed story in which the pace never falters with important messages about greed, fairness and the looming climate disaster. Like the best dystopian fiction, what makes it so terrifying is that it’s all too easy to imagine it coming true."
