October 10, 2023 by Random House Books for Young Readers
ARC provided by the Publisher
Keith Arlo lives in Cliff River City, in a future where there are onlky seven fairly small cities, since there are no fossil fuels being used at all. There are trains, horse carts, and a society where sustainable environmental practices are encouraged so that the world doesn't devolve into the chaos that existed before the Sudden Fall. When Keith's aunt and uncle are swept out to see in their new home of Sandwater City, they leave behind his young cousin, Lulu. She's being held in a children't home, and Keither father is too busy with his battery shop to go and get her. His mother, who designs doorways for municipal buildings, has just broken her ankle. It only makes sense that Keith, who is 14, will get on the train with a note and bring her home. Unfortunately, he managed to switch his blue knapsack for the one belonging to Malcolm, a stranger who mentioned he is working on a secret project at Graves Mountain. Keith reads some of the papers, hoping to find some contact information, and decides to stop by Malcolm's facility after retrieving Lulu, because he wants to bask in the gratitude of returning the important papers. Malcom is grateful, but he's also not happy that the security was compromised. Despite this, because Keith is lighter than the men working on the project, he is asked to test pilot it. The deep secret is that Project F is bringing back a coal powered jet pack that will give people more freedom than they currently have. It's awesome to fly, but Keith soon has to get Lulu home. He also has concerns about the legalities of the creation, but doesn't think too hard about what the "black powder" fuel is. He also hasn't paid very close attention to the history of the Sudden Fall, but forgets to return a book Malcolm had that details the history of this time. Lulu settles in, with understandable sadness about returning to her former home city without her parents. When Malcolm contacts Keith and says that his group is going to come to Cliff River City and debut the new technology, Keith is somewhat conflicted. Is it illegal? What might be the consequences of this new techology if it does invovle reintroducing fossil fuels?
Strengths: There have been so many dystopian books written, including this author's The City of Ember, and I often wonder why there aren't more eutopias. The answer is, of course, is that a lack of conflict makes for a boring story. Since Project F details a working endaxitopia (resorting to modern Greek to form this!), it makes sense that while things are pretty good, the conflict comes from a threat to the society. The beginning gets off to a good start, with Keith being entrusted to retrieve his cousin, and getting the opportunity to fly. Perhaps it was the fact that there was some technology (trains, apartment buildings) but no planes of cars, that gave this an early 1900s feel to it. Cliff River City seemed like something set almost during the Great Depression, and was fairly rich with outdoor spaces that are gorgeously described. Keith is a fairly typical 14 year old, who is a bit self absorbed but willing to learn about the world around him, and his feelings about the possibility of flight are realistic.
Weaknesses: This became extremely didactic about fossil fuels, and I would have been okay with that if I had felt for a moment that Malcolm and his Project F were any sort of real threat. Instead, he seemed like a slightly off kilter inventor with little support whose project didn't seem to be a threat at all. The launch was not a success; Malcolm crashes and ends up being banished, but just to another city, which shows that even the government didn't find him threatening. His operation is easily closed down, and no one seemed that interested in it at all. Keith doesn't really get to save the day, which I would have enjoyed more. I also didn't see the point of the scenes with Amity, a girl from his apartment building, at all.
Strengths: There have been so many dystopian books written, including this author's The City of Ember, and I often wonder why there aren't more eutopias. The answer is, of course, is that a lack of conflict makes for a boring story. Since Project F details a working endaxitopia (resorting to modern Greek to form this!), it makes sense that while things are pretty good, the conflict comes from a threat to the society. The beginning gets off to a good start, with Keith being entrusted to retrieve his cousin, and getting the opportunity to fly. Perhaps it was the fact that there was some technology (trains, apartment buildings) but no planes of cars, that gave this an early 1900s feel to it. Cliff River City seemed like something set almost during the Great Depression, and was fairly rich with outdoor spaces that are gorgeously described. Keith is a fairly typical 14 year old, who is a bit self absorbed but willing to learn about the world around him, and his feelings about the possibility of flight are realistic.
Weaknesses: This became extremely didactic about fossil fuels, and I would have been okay with that if I had felt for a moment that Malcolm and his Project F were any sort of real threat. Instead, he seemed like a slightly off kilter inventor with little support whose project didn't seem to be a threat at all. The launch was not a success; Malcolm crashes and ends up being banished, but just to another city, which shows that even the government didn't find him threatening. His operation is easily closed down, and no one seemed that interested in it at all. Keith doesn't really get to save the day, which I would have enjoyed more. I also didn't see the point of the scenes with Amity, a girl from his apartment building, at all.
What I really think: I feel like I understand what DuPrau was trying to do here. I feel like this was meant to be written in a way similar to 1950s science fiction books, sort of like a middle grade Asteroid City. (Which I haven't seen, but whose trailers look rather fun.) It's a cautionary tale to be sure, but also involve jet packs. As I said, some of the writing is gorgeous, but the plot was sacrificed a bit to the message. I'm going to hand this one to a fifth grade neighbor and see what he thinks.
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