Blythe Woolston, MARTians, Walker Books, 1 March 2016, 223pp., $16.99 (pbk), ISBN: 9781406341393
This strange and highly readable novel is narrated in a smart, deadpan tone of voice by Zoë Zindleman, a young teen in a world not too distantly in the future for us. In this world it is possible for a mother to simply drive away to another city, leaving her daughter to fend for herself in the family home that has been put up for sale. The home must be kept in showroom perfection at all times. In this world, Zoë can be graduated from her school before she completes her final year, as part of a corporate take-over of schools, then put to work in ALLMART, where she is re-named Zero, find her self living in an abandoned shopping mall with 5er and Timmer, avoiding surveillance drones by walking circuitous routes between work and home, and finally having to deal with dead birds shot by her manager, and a baby left in a bag at ALLMART. It is the kind of novel that promises to come together at some point, but makes the most of the freedom that this jump into a future present tense provides. Zoë is a beguiling narrator, and the ride she takes us on sends tingles down the spine because all of this implausible story is so possible. A lot of fun for 12 to 15 year olds.
Reviewed by Kevin Brophy