YA)Īfter surviving a suicide attempt, a fragile teen isn't sure she can endure without cutting herself.

Franklin’s Island (2002) will satisfy her many fans-and gain new ones. Gripping and thoughtful, Halam’s follow-up to Dr.

In a world where a red light means a camera is watching, Sloe’s going off the grid into the wilderness ups the ante. Slavery, outlaws, thieves and the all-powerful state network threaten Sloe’s survival. All wild creatures have been eliminated, but the natural world is definitely not safe. 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. Rosita’s father is taken away and her mother hides this treasure from all comers except little Rosita. 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. The changes in the child parallel the gradual revelation of a cold hard world that extends beyond Sloe’s Siberian location. In a moving and totally absorbing novel, Sloe evolves into a heroine equal to anything amidst this dazzling combination of science, adventure, fantasy and fairy tale.Readers discover this dystopian world as loved, slightly spoiled Rosita transforms into adolescent rebel Sloe. At 13, and with only the Lindquists for company, Sloe sets off on an epic 1000 mile journey embracing breathtaking adventure, danger and hardships in her quest to be reunited with her mother.

These tiny, magical creatures hold the secret to life itself. But her Mama has bequeathed Sloe six tiny animals – like creatures from a fairy tale. Years later Sloe is sent to prison school and Mama disappears. To Sloe, Mama’s secret work is magic, as enchanting as Mama’s tales of a bright city across the ice where the sun always shines and one day they will be free.

Mama’s crime teaching science, and her dedication to the hope that the lost animal species can be reborn. When Sloe was tiny, her Papa disappeared and she and her mama went to live in a prison camp in the snowy North, in a time and place when there are no more wild animals. By Ann Halam (Published by Wendy Lamb Books)Īndre Norton Nebula Award for Middle Grade and Young Adult Fiction in 2005

Siberia by Ann Halam