The Survival Game

By Author / Illustrator

Nicky Singer

Genre

Adventure

Age range(s)

11+

Publisher

Hachette Children's Group

ISBN

9781444944525

Format

Paperback / softback

Published

26-07-2018

Synopsis

'A wonderful, surprisingly delicate story about a teenager making her way home to Scotland in a world remade by climate change (aimed at YA readers but, like all good children's books, good for adults too)' Lucy Mangan, i Weekend

In a world full of checkpoints and controls, can love and hope defy the borders? A searing, timely story, as arresting as it is beautiful.

Imagine a world ...

Where there are too many people on a too-hot earth and your only chance of salvation is to journey north.

Where you must prove yourself worthy of existence at every turn, at every checkpoint.

Where your instincts become your most powerful weapon - even more than the gun in your pocket.

Where you find out what it takes to survive.

An extraordinary story about survival and what it costs, about the power of small kindnesses to change everything.

Reviews

How do you communicate when you have no words? How do you survive when you have no hope? How do you live when you have no home, you have no family - and yet the best way to survive is to be alone? Mhairi has learned to be independent, to live in the shadows, to live off her wits in a hostile environment - and to travel. She is trying to reach her grandmother's home, thousands of miles from where she began, and she has nothing. The last thing she needs is a companion. And yet, and yet... The boy becomes her shadow, and she finds herself, reluctantly, becoming his protector. He's mute but laughter and a shared joke about chipped teeth breaks the communication barrier. They learn to trust - and even to love - each other. They become each other's family. Help comes in unexpected ways and from unpredictable sources. People, more often than not, let them down. It is, after all, a question of survival of the fittest. Or, the most loved. As Mhairi comes to realise, 'home' isn't just a place after all. It's people. It's the people you love. It's the people you refuse to lose. This is a beautifully written and extraordinary story of survival, which makes the reader question what really is important - and shows what a huge difference small acts of kindness can make. It's a book that will be enjoyed by young adults - and adults - who like an adventure that touches their emotions. 384 pages / Ages 12+ / Reviewed by Jane Welby, school librarian.