By Alastair Chisholm (author) , George Caltsoudas (illustrator)
"Breath-taking dystopian adventure"
Paperback In Stock £7.99 £7.19
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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.
Climate catastrophe leaves the people of Earth fighting for oxygen in this gripping dystopian thriller from bestselling sci-fi author Alastair Chisholm.
Read the full description
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?
'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
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.
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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 LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed Reek and determined it is suitable for children aged 9-12 years old
Reek features in the following genres: Books of the Month, Recommendations, Books to Motivate Reluctant Readers age 9+, Dyslexia Friendly Books for Interest age 9+, Ecological and Environmental Interest - Fiction, Featured Books for 11+ readers, Science Fiction, Children's and Young Adult Fiction, Children’s, Teenage and Educational, Star Books, Thrillers, Adventure Stories, Featured Books for 9+ readers
Paperback. £7.19, down from the £7.99 cover price. In Stock.
Reek was written by Alastair Chisholm and published by Barrington Stoke Ltd an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers
£7.19, reduced from £7.99. In Stock.
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