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Published Sep 2019
320 pages
Genre: Literary Fiction
Publication Information
From Printz medalist Marcus Sedgwick, a gripping novel about health - our own and our planet's - and the stigma of illness.
Ash boards a Greyhound bus heading to the place where Bly was last seen: Snowflake, Arizona. Six thousand feet up in the wide red desert, Ash meets Mona, her dog, her goat, and her neighbors, and finds stepbrother Bly, too.
In their ramshackle homes, the walls lined with tinfoil, almost all the residents of Snowflake are sick. But this isn't any ordinary sickness: the chemicals and technologies of modern life are poisoning them. They call themselves canaries, living warning signs that humans have pushed the environment too far, except no one seems to be taking their warnings seriously. The healthy "normies" of Snowflake have written them off as a bunch of eccentrics, and when Ash too falls ill, the doctor's response is "It's all in your mind."
Snowflake, AZ contemplates illness and health―both our own and our planet's. As Ash lives through a cycle of illness and recovery and loss, the world beyond is succumbing to its own affliction: a breakdown of civilization only distantly perceived by Ash and the isolated residents of Snowflake, from which there may or may not be a chance for recovery. This provocative novel by one of our most admired storytellers explores the resilience of love and community in the face of crisis.
"Sedgwick's restraint is remarkable, and he achieves something special with the raw, vulnerable humanity he reveals through these characters...An ominous, relevant, and uniquely compelling read." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"This raw, deeply philosophical tale leaves readers with a timely, sobering message about how humankind's treatment of the environment impacts the environment's treatment of humankind." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"A provocative story of illness and forthcoming apocalypse." - Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
"Will appeal to both realistic fiction and sci-fi readers." - School Library Journal
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Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Photo: Kate Christer
Marcus Sedgwick was born and raised in East Kent in the south-east of England.
His work was shortlisted for more than 30 awards, including five nominations for the Carnegie medal, two for the Edgar Allan Poe award and four for the Guardian children's fiction prize.
He was also the most noted author in the history of the Printz award, with one win and two honour books. He won the Branford Boase award for his debut novel, Floodland, and the Booktrust Teenage prize for My Swordhand Is Singing.
Marcus was Writer in Residence at Bath Spa University for three years, and reviewed for various national newspapers and magazines, and periodically teaches creative writing at Arvon and Ty Newydd. He also judged numerous books awards, including the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize and the ...
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