Description

Honour Book, Australian Children’s Book Council Book of the Year 2023. The Raven’s Song alternates between the stories of Phoenix, who lives in a near-future world impacted by climate change and a devastating pandemic; and Shelby, one hundred years in the future in a post-pandemic, post-pollution, post-city world where each community is exactly three hundred and fifty people sustainably subsisting on seven hundred hectares. The story of a world that is beginning to fall apart, and a chance to see it all put back together, The Raven’s Song is a vision of hope for the future, seen through the eyes of the young people who will fight for it.

Publisher Review

An extraordinary tale, a weaving of narratives exploring present and future. A brilliant story from two incredibly talented writers, each voice adding further depth to the worlds created by Fraillon and MacDibble. Highly original, and thought provoking. I loved it. -- Gill Lewis, Author Zana Fraillon and Bren MacDibble have created a superbly satisfying dual-voice narrative, one which is alternately harrowing, dream-like, challenging and tender. The love Phoenix and Shelby share for a beautiful, broken land is matched only by their tenacious spirit and fierce family loyalty. Readers are inexorably brought full circle in a truly remarkable novel: hope lives in a seed and an ancient song. -- Alison Brumwell Be swept away by an inspirational story of pandemic, survival, determination and courage with Zana Fraillon and Bren MacDibble's thrilling and prescient novel. * The Lancashire Post * Hauntingly beautiful storytelling from two perspectives where myth merges with sci-fi to bring two lives separated by a century together. * MissClevelandisreading blog * A wonderfully written and timely story with a perfect blend of folkloric magical realism, cautionary environmental messages, scientific advances and fierce family bonds and friendships. * Bellis does Books blog * The themes of children teetering on the brink of adulthood and having their futures sacrificed by adult carelessness is as heart-breaking as it is beautifully and metaphorically written. -- Veronica Price * V's View from the Bookshelves blog * Masterfully-written and engaging * Book of the Year shortlist citation * 5* review: 'there's a sense of an unusual passion driving the writing... would surely engage and excite older readers, regardless of age'. * Books for Keeps * A truly mesmerising time-slip novel that encompasses not only the way our planet changes under the humans that live on it but also the way, regardless of time and era, that friendships can last against all odds. Heartache amid laughter and melancholic tears for what once was, run through this incredible climate-change future-world story... A reminder perhaps of what may happen should we continue to treat our planet as a mere stone to stand on rather than the amazing natural life-source it is for animals and humans alike... The Raven's Song is a refreshing look into how we spend our time with those we love. I read it twice. Even more overwhelming the second time. There will definitely be a third reading, once my heart has stopped hammering and I don't fear the call of ravens as much. -- Sarah P Broadley * My Book Corner blog *