Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Ten years in the future, oil supplies have essentially run dry and the lifestyle we know has ended forever. Wars over the remaining oil are being waged, but for Tom and his small town, the gas stations are closed, electricity is shaky at best, and grocery stores are running out of supplies. Tom, Gwen, and Niki, the novel's three main protagonists, each respond to the changes in different ways, but all have much to lose, and their ability to adapt to this new world will be tested in brutal ways. The three teens meet when they all end up at a mysterious house in the woods, a prototype model of a green home that just might be exactly what this small town needs to begin permanent changes toward more environmentally aware lifestyles. The fact that the teens are still very much teens is appealing and realistic—they may not be able to buy food or heat or medicine, but making out with the hot chick/dude is still awesome and homework still feels wearisome. Unfortunately, Tom's stoic heroism makes him a rather forgettable protagonist—indeed, even Niki's whining slouch toward accepting that her old, cushy life is gone forever yields more depth. In addition, the long passages, masquerading as dialogue, that describe the far-reaching impacts of a world without oil (as in lists of all the products, like shampoo, that would no longer be available) are tiring and forced. Nevertheless, this snappy, cautiously optimistic book about a future (not at all impossible) world devastated by pollution and indifference may well resonate with environmentally minded teens.