Beyond the Frozen Horizon

In the not-so-distant future, the world has finally recognised the threat posed by climate change. When Rory, an adventurous and nature-loving, girl isolated from her schoolmates by family circumstance is granted the opportunity to explore a re-wilded far north, she's thrilled.

What Rory finds when she reaches the enclave of Pyramiden is not the future-focused polar paradise she was expecting. The beauty of her surroundings is everything she imagined and more; the rare earth project her mother was brought here to assess, however, is not. The project and its employees are met at every turn with resistance from locals who aren't meant to exist and with environmental impacts the company seems determined to hide in order to move forward.

Unsettled, Rory scrambles to find the truth about Pyramiden, its past, and the future it faces if the project is greenlit, all while haunted by the world as it once was and the possibility of her mother's complicity in bringing about an even bleaker future.

At its core, the story is hopeful and focuses on viable positive change. It is beautifully written but at times deeply discomfiting; children prone to eco-anxiety might benefit from reading and discussing this book with a trusted adult. The real-world relevance and evocative writing will be appreciated by an older audience as well.