Exodus (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

Review

Fifteen-year-old Mara loves her island home but time is short. The year is 2100 and waters are rising, leaving little land on which to shelter from the worsening storms. Mara convinces her people to leave home and search for cities above the rising waters. But after terrible losses, the refugees arrive at the New World city of New Mungo (which towers above the mostly submerged Glasgow) to find a dreadful situation. Refugees barely survive, starving and diseased, forbidden from entering the city except when they are press-ganged into forced labor. With the help of matriarchal tree-dwelling primitives outside the city and an attractive young man inside, Mara hopes to rescue her friends and find new hope for humanity. The overt ideology of Mara's tale, about as subtle as a brick, would be enriched greatly if these characters were at all developed. In a book that rests so heavily upon ideology, the science is exaggerated. The real-life climate-change worst-case scenario would lead to sufficiently shocking science fiction, so why sink Europe beneath the ocean? Inspirational but flawed. (Science fiction. 11-13) (Kirkus Reviews) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description

An internationally acclaimed bestseller, vividly and terrifyingly topical, is finally available to American audiences.

 

Less than a hundred years from now, the world as we know it no longer exists.  Cities have disappeared beneath the sea, technology no longer functions, and human civilization has reverted to a much more primitive state

 

On an isolated northern island, the people of Wing are trying to hold onto their way of life—even as the sea continues to claim precious acres and threatens to claim their very lives

 

Only fifteen-year-old Mara has the vision and the will to lead her people in search of a new beginning in this harsh, unfamiliar world.

 

This compelling and powerful story set in the near future will hit home with teens, especially those who are ever more aware of the increasingly controversial climate crisis we face in our world today.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Walker Books for Young Readers (April 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802797458
• ISBN-13: 978-0802797452
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #797,099 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Here we go again..., November 1, 2008

By	Ryan Van Baalen "Ryan" (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Ah, here we go again. People loading a book up with 5 star reviews. 5 stars means best of the best, people. Average? 3 stars...and that's what I'm giving this book.

I really wanted to love this book...really wanted to...tried to...couldn't. I love reading books (YA and adult alike) that deal with a changed world. I find the premise interesting, and always a little eerie(in a good way).

But how were all those refugees managing to survive in the that camp outside of New Mungo's city walls?

If the citizens of New Mungo were as heartless as they were portrayed, why didn't they simply use their gun boats to push them away or gun them all down?

Why in all this time would only a fifteen-year-old girl discover the usefulness of the cyberwizz and the weave.

I also was annoyed at how the New Mungo citizens were presented...as some lifeless lump of meat concerned only with the present, and completely close-minded to all things in the past. If this dude, what's his name...Caledon had an office full of books, why would he create a world so devoid of them?

And the names...god, the names were so stupid. Gorbals? I laughed everytime I read that one.

Sorry...I tried.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exodus, June 23, 2004

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Exodus (Paperback)

Exodus is one of the best, most exiting books that I have ever read (and believe me, I've read quite a few). It is set in the year 2100 and in it, young Mara Bell, from the island of Wing (a lonely island that loses more and more of its land to the hungry ocean every year) sets out on a truly terrific journey to save her people (and then later the Treenesters and the slaves) and to find them a new place to live. In her fantastic journey she meets many new friends like the young orphan who she names Wing, after her drowned island, Gorbals, the Treenester and Fox, her greatest friend. However, she also makes many enemies, like Tony Rex the rook, Pollock Halfgood and, in a way, Caledon, the Grand Father of All. There are several unexpected twists and a brilliant, if heart-wrenching, ending. I am eagerly hoping for a sequel to come out. However I'm not giving anything else away so you'll have to read it yourself to find out what happens!

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Riveting and moving - not just a children's book..., March 19, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Exodus (Paperback)

A lyrical, sweeping, epic story of survival against the odds. It is 2099 - and the world is gradually drowning, as mighty Arctic ice floes melt, the seas rise, and land disappears forever beneath storm-tossed waves. For 15-year-old Mara, her family and community, huddted on the fast-disappearing island of Wing, the new century brings flight. Packed into tiny boats, a terrifying journey begins to a bizarre city that rises into the sky, built on the drowned remains of the ancient city of Glasgow. But even here there is no safety and, shut out of the city, Mara realizes they are asylum-seekers in a world torn between high-tech wizardry and the most primitive injustice. To save her people, Mara must not only find a way into the city but also search for a new land and a new home...