Nat Amoore (text) and Mike Barry (illustrator), We Run Tomorrow, Penguin Random House, May 2022, 336 pp., RRP $16.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781760897697
I always look forward to a new Nat Amoore book and this may be my favourite one yet! From the very first page, it’s obvious that Nat loves story and character and is a master at creating both. Her voice is strong and lets you know you are in good hands and in for a wild ride.
Sticks, Maki, Jed and Tommy are the Locket Street gang. They’re best friends who live on the same street and adore the comic series, The Screen Savers, acting out videos of their favourite issues, which gathers a loyal online following. When something threatens to bust the group apart, Sticks has an idea that will keep them all together. It’s risky and may not work, but he has to at least try and save his gang.
The characters are so alive and fully formed that even in their silences readers will feel like they’re getting to know them. All of them fumble at times and get things wrong, which makes the book feel real. Add to this artwork by comic creator Mike Barry, and you have a brilliant dynamic duo. Mike has not only created the eye-catching cover but has drawn several panels inside the book, where the Locket Street characters become the Screen Savers.
I loved this novel. It is fresh, fast-paced, gripping, and full of heart. What more could young readers want?
Highly recommended.
Reviewed by Deborah Abela
