We the Future

February 15, 2023
Can the power of friendship and political organizing change the course of the climate crisis? Following a near-fatal asthma attack, Jonah Kaminski learns about the horrific impacts of climate change. After he rashly posts a YouTube video about the dangers of fossil fuels, calling out the polluting power plant in his Pennsylvania town, he passes out. Jonah thinks he's dying, but a pink-clad astronaut with an inhaler rescues him. Her name is Sunny, and she claims she's from the future and has a plan to save the world. With just 31 days to accomplish this task, Jonah, Sunny, and their newly formed crew race to combine their various skills to canvass their peers and hold corporations and politicians accountable. The first-person narrative aims for a humorous tone; however, the writing style undermines this by telling rather than showing. Time travel is used to deliver deus ex machina solutions that conveniently eliminate barriers. Character development is sketchy; characters seem to serve primarily to drive the plot. Most of the cast members, including Jonah, are assumed White; Sunny reads Black. There is some disability and racial diversity in the supporting cast. The strongest element of this story is the empowering message that directs kids to ignore small distractions, like eliminating plastic straws, and instead become part of the worldwide climate activism movement pushing for significant changes. The relevant message shines despite uneven execution. (Science fiction. 8-12)

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February 27, 2023
Environmental justice themes buoyed by friendship and community care infuse Lewis’s impassioned, lightly speculative debut, which follows white 12-year-old Jonah Kaminski’s quest to take down a local coal plant. Determined to educate his YouTube following about the apocalyptic consequences of climate change, Jonah climbs a mountain trail and starts a live broadcast. When he experiences a life-threatening asthma attack during his livestream, he doesn’t expect to be saved by a girl wearing a pink astronaut suit, who hands him an inhaler and says she’s from the year 2100. Believing Jonah’s environmental activism has the potential to catalyze others’ engagement, Sunday “Sunny” Turner, who is Black, has stolen a time machine and traveled back to save him. With Jonah’s help, Sunny plans to confront a Pennsylvania senator on what she mysteriously terms “Zero Hour,” an event that takes place in a month. Caricature-like antagonists, such as the coal plant’s cigarette-huffing owner and bumbling future scientists pursuing Sunny for the time machine, dampen the novel’s important messaging regarding contemporary climate emergencies. Still, the protagonists’ tenacity, paired with Lewis’s dynamic text, delivers a thought-provoking read. Ages 8–13. Agent: Jen Nadol, Unter Agency.