Anya and the Light Above the Ocean

Anya's mum works alone on a small boat but she is always home by nine - until one stormy evening she doesn't return. Anya rows out to look for her and above the waves she sees a strange window of light which she feels compelled to touch. Suddenly, the storm falls eerily silent. Anya gets home safely but her mother is still missing and something feels off. Then she is sent away to stay with an unfriendly couple in a strange house, where she makes a discovery that challenges everything she thought she knew. Now she must fight for the truth about the light, her mother and herself.

Anya and the Light Above the Ocean is a complex story, hard to summarise but very satisfying to read. The action is tightly-plotted and completely gripping: I sped through the book in no time, barely able to put it down. It's more thought-provoking than the average page-turner, though, and I found myself pondering the underlying questions around identity and self perception, as well as the ethics of cloning that the story raises.

There is a freshness about the novel that I really enjoyed. Scenes are set vividly, with vocabulary that is gratifyingly rich but not obscure. The reader views events from Anya's perspective and she is an appealing heroine: resourceful and determined. This would make a rewarding read for upper primary or early secondary.

Anya and the Light Above the Ocean provides a good model for writing and plenty of opportunities for wider discussion of the themes of truth, identity and scientific responsibility. Amelia Giudici is a debut author to watch.

272 pages / Reviewed by Louisa Farrow, teacher

Suggested Reading Age 9+

Anya's mum still hasn't returned home from her top-secret experimental work, so she impulsively sets out on her boat to search for her. Anya is drawn to a strange light hovering above the ocean and reaches out to touch it . . . She wakes to a strangely calm sea and makes her way back home. However, her mother's close friend, Imani, is acting strangely around her. Why is she not pleased to see her? Why has Mum still not returned? More importantly, why is Anya being sent to a strange, unwelcoming house until her mum is found? Nothing is making sense, and Anya is frightened and confused. Then she uncovers a shocking secret that changes everything she thought she knew . . . 

This pacy, well-put-together sci-fi story is perfectly pitched for its target audience of 10+. It's a thought-provoking novel with an unexpected twist that the main character must work through to uncover what's really happening - and, more importantly, to find her mum.

Anya and the Light Above the Ocean is a gripping debut novel full of sci-fi mystery. This is an easy recommendation, as the author clearly knows how to grab the reader from the first page with her imaginative writing and doesn't let go.

272 pages / Reviewed by Linda Brown, librarian

Suggested Reading Age 9+