If Not Us
-
-
4.5 • 2 Ratings
-
-
- $9.99
-
- $9.99
Publisher Description
He’d always accepted the mine and power station were part of Shelbourne. On still nights, the thrum of the turbines echoed down the valley and melded with the sound of the ocean until you couldn’t tell them apart.
Hesse lives a small coastal town, where a coalmine and power station are a part of the scenery, and a part of the ever-growing problem of climate change. His mum is a member of a local environmental group campaigning to close the mine and shut down the power station. It’s a no-brainer, of course, but Hesse is more interested in surfing—and in Fenna, the new exchange student from the Netherlands.
But when someone seems to be trying to derail the campaign, and his friends’ families face losing their jobs, Hesse begins to realise that things are complex.
Even though he’s reluctant to step into the spotlight, with Fenna’s encouragement he decides it’s time to make a stand. Because some things are too important to leave to everyone else. And even one small, nervous voice can make a difference.
When Hesse agrees to speak at a protest meeting he has no idea of the storm he is about to unleash.
If Not Us is Mark Smith’s first standalone YA novel following his hugely successful Winter trilogy. It’s another great story with an engaging and relatable protagonist, as well as an impassioned plea for climate-change action that will inspire and empower readers of all ages.
Mark Smith is an award-winning author. He lives, works and surfs on Victoria’s Surf Coast. The first book in his acclaimed Winter trilogy, The Road to Winter, is widely taught in secondary schools and loved by readers of all ages, and Wilder Country, the second book of the trilogy, won the 2018 Indie Book of the Year for Young Adults.
‘An unmissable series.’ Sydney Morning Herald on the Winter trilogy
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Australian surfer Hesse Templeton, 17, takes his first hesitant steps into environmental activism in this optimistic call to action by Smith (the Winter trilogy). Hesse lives a quiet life in fictional Australian town Shelbourne on Victoria's west coast; he works at a surf shop and harbors a crush on mercurial Dutch exchange student Fenna De Vries. But after Hesse's activist mother receives insider data suggesting that Hadron, the company behind a local coal-fired power plant, under-reports its sulfur dioxide emissions, she becomes embroiled in efforts to shut the company down. The campaign puts the family at odds with their neighbors, who depend on Hadron for work, and leads to Hesse facing violent intimidation, as when he's threatened at gunpoint by a man opposing his mother's ideals. As Hesse learns more about the company's effect on the environment, including his beloved ocean, he nervously begins speaking out at environmentalist rallies. Hesse and Fenna's romance contributes to uneven pacing and sometimes detracts from the novel's overarching messaging. Nevertheless, rhythmic, Aussie-slang-laden dialogue provides levity, while Hadron's sinister corporate subterfuge imbues the narrative with tension. Main characters present as white. Ages 12–up.
