EXTINCTION WARRIOR

Wile’s debut middle-grade SF adventure pits a 12-year-old eco-warrior against an international gang of criminals trafficking endangered species.

In the year 2055, Wilhelmina “Luki” Sloan lives in a remote town in western Alaska with her parents, who are both “scientist-detectives” for an agency called World Endangered Animal Police Protection, with a mission to protect species at risk of extinction. Luki’s love of nature is intensified by her ability to communicate with animals via a power she calls “mindsight” (“I can see what they’re thinking in images they send me and feel what they’re feeling and I let them know what I’m thinking by sending my pictures”). When her parents—out on an assignment pursuing animal traffickers from the Red Dragon gang—mysteriously disappear, Luki fears they are dead or imprisoned somewhere by the Red Dragon leader, and she sets out on a quest to find them. With only her trusty android friend, Tuttuk (Tuk, for short), accompanying her, she borrows her parents’ cutting-edge flying vehicle and collects numerous endangered species (such as an African wild dog and a Puerto Rican crested toad) from all over the world in a ploy to get close to the animal traffickers. The character development isn’t particularly deep here—the strongest element of the book is the author’s drive to increase the awareness of specific environmental issues (including irrevocable habitat destruction, the rate of species extinction, and the plastic pandemic) that young readers may not be cognizant of. Wile also shares information about endangered species and highlights opportunities to become more active in the battle to save the planet (there is a list at the end of the novel of organizations and websites that young people can access to help fight climate change). The biggest flaw in the narrative is the repetitive and low-intensity nature of the extended section of the story in which Luki and Tuk travel the globe collecting endangered species. The action-packed conclusion, however, makes up for much of the turgid middle.

While structurally flawed, this eco-adventure will likely educate and inspire young readers.