MAKESHIFT

A haunting tale of hope and survival set on a remote island in the Pacific Northwest.

Three children—CeCe, Heiko, and Ari—are the only people remaining on the island of Makeshift after a terrible event decimated their entire community of survivalists and also, they believe, brought an end to all humankind. Raised in an environment where certain adults are designated “conductors” to help lead the community, and where everyone is considered a relation, these three children, though technically unrelated, refer to themselves as “sisters,” despite the fact that Ari is a boy. Practically feral but ferociously independent and resourceful, they salvage for food on land, cast nets for fish and crabs from the sea, and spend their time diving in the treacherous waters searching for anything useful from the many ships that have sunk offshore. Ari, the narrator and youngest of the group, is the only one who can read or write. Heiko, the bespectacled middle child, has managed to tame a wolverine. CeCe, the eldest, assumes the role of conductor and soon decides it’s time to venture off the island and see what awaits them beyond their familiar surroundings. Only then—after canoeing together to the mainland and discovering that other humans do still exist—does it become clear to Ari and Heiko that their sister has experienced far more of the outside world than she’s let on. Following their brief but eye-opening foray to the mainland, the three find their way back to Makeshift to rebuild the world they left behind and make it their own. Because the three children were in hiding during the event that set this story in motion, the reader is forced to rely on their accounts and assumptions in the aftermath to make sense of what likely unfolded, which doesn’t always work. And while the collective memory of their earlier lives provides much-needed background, there are some lapses in logic that don’t always add up.

Still, this is a touching story of faith and trust and of young lives braving the unknown.