In our chaotic world, sometimes it is not hard to think about the end of the world. After all we have environmental problems everywhere. The wildfires have been raging around the world and certainly across the country. Hazel and I recently binge watched the show, The 100, on Netflix. It is about the human world after a nuclear war. Many people were able to leave Earth and live in space. However, their united ships are now running out of air and supplies. They decide to send 100 teenagers who have been imprisoned for breaking a law to Earth to see if it is inhabitable yet. As we were watching this show I began to read The Flicker by H.E. Edgmon. The book and show have many similarities as both are dystopia. There are some similar thoughts and ideas and yet they are so different. Today I get to share The Flicker with you. It is recommended for ages 8 to 12.
From the Publisher:
Perfect for fans of The Marrow Thieves, Hatchet and The City of Ember, H.E. Edgmon's middle grade debut offers a bittersweet tale of hope and survival, a modern classic for the climate change generation.
One year ago, a solar flare scorched the Earth and destroyed life as we know it.
With their parents gone and supplies running dangerously low, step-sisters Millie and Rose only have one chance at survival: leave home with their infant half-brother and loyal dog Corncob in search of Millie’s grandma, a Seminole elder. As they navigate the burning land with a group of fellow survivors, dodging The Hive, a villainous group that has spent the last year hoarding supplies and living in luxury, the siblings have to learn to rely on each other more than ever, and discover how to build a new life from the ashes.
Expertly balancing heartbreak and hope, The Flicker is both a thrilling survival story and a tender exploration of Indigenous ideas of identity and found family.
A Stonewall Honor Book
From Me:
This book has so much in it. The world has basically ended. There was a huge solar flare, and it scorched the Earth. The few survivors are fighting to get what they need. We meet the stepsisters: Rose and Millie. The book goes back and forth between them. Millie's mother was pregnant when the flare happened. She gave birth but ends up dying. So now Rose and Millie have a half-brother they have care for especially after Rose's father comes back from trying to get supplies beat up and dies. The world is now a dangerous place. People have turned on people. Rose and Millie know they cannot stay in the bunker they have survived in because there is no more water, and the supplies are low. They have to work together even though they don't like each other to survive and to ensure the survival of Sammie, their baby brother. Millie is sure her Seminole grandmother is still alive and knows everything will be fine if they can just get to her house in South Carolina. Rose wants to find the Sanctuary that her father was searching for. There are occasional clues on the radio, but it is all so cryptic no one knows where to find it. Then they meet up with a group of teenagers that survived at a summer camp. They have a camp counselor with them that they see as an adult but begin to realize he is only a little older than them (in his 20s). They have a bus and more supplies and offer to help them get to South Carolina. However, they have to go by the Hive, a business that has turned into a military group that kills for what they want. There is action and so much in this book.
Millie wants to find her grandmother so she can help the kids survive but also so she can learn the Seminole ways and teach them to Sammie. Millie is struggling with the importance of family and roots. Both Rose and Millie have missing parents that left them before they really knew them. They both struggle with that. The adventure has them grow closer together and truly become a family. Rose also discovers that Millie's grandmother was truly connected with the Earth and had some idea that something big was going to happen.
In the group of teenagers, they meet there is one who is a transgender boy. Meeting him makes Rose question her own gender identity. She comes out as feeling neither female or male and wanting to be a they/them. Ben, the camp counselor, it is later revealed is gay and he regrets having his boyfriend fake who he was in front of his parents.
One of the most interesting lines of the story is questioning why they want to survive and the difference between surviving and living. Ben is questioning this as well as pushing the kids, Millie in particular, for what it means. Ben and Millie see huge similarities between themselves as both are the ones that take care of others.
Then there is the entire question of how as a society people began to fight over supplies and kill one another. The Sanctuary is a group of people who are not doing this. They are helping one another to survive. They share supplies and take care of each other and new people joining their group. There are some surprises as to the members of the Sanctuary.
Throughout this book there is the story of loss and grief. But woven within is hope, friendship, love and family. It has so much to think about and discuss. At the end of the book there are some pages of discussion questions for each chapter. This book would be an amazing class assignment book or to be read aloud. There is a bit of science from the flare and environmental issues. There is the Native American culture built into it as well as mention of the politics that didn't stop the destruction of Earth. There is the entire discussion of greed and how that plays out in the story and life. It is an amazing book and I highly recommend it.
