SIBERIA

Readers discover this dystopian world as loved, slightly spoiled Rosita transforms into adolescent rebel Sloe. The changes in the child parallel the gradual revelation of a cold hard world that extends beyond Sloe’s Siberian location. Her scientist parents are protecting test-tube creatures that carry much of the genetic code for a posterity that doesn’t appreciate or even realize what may be lost. Rosita’s father is taken away and her mother hides this treasure from all comers except little Rosita. Tricked into betraying those she cares for, Sloe sets out on a journey to “the city where the sun always shines” to fulfill her mother’s wishes. All wild creatures have been eliminated, but the natural world is definitely not safe. Slavery, outlaws, thieves and the all-powerful state network threaten Sloe’s survival. In a world where a red light means a camera is watching, Sloe’s going off the grid into the wilderness ups the ante. Gripping and thoughtful, Halam’s follow-up to Dr. Franklin’s Island (2002) will satisfy her many fans—and gain new ones. (Fiction. YA)