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This Fragile Earth

By: Susannah Wise
Narrated by: Susannah Wise
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Publisher's summary

What would you do to protect your family if the world stopped working?

Not long from now, in a recognisable yet changed London, Signy and Matthew lead a dull, difficult life. They've only really stayed together for the sake of their six-year-old son, Jed. But they're surviving, just about. Until the day the technology that runs their world stops working. Unable to use their phones, pay for anything, even open the smart door to their flat, Matthew assumes that this is just a momentary glitch in the computers that now run the world.

But then the electricity and gas are cut off. Even the water stops running. And the pollination drones—vital to the world, ever since the bees all died—are behaving oddly. People are going missing. Soldiers are on the streets. London is no longer safe.

A shocking incident sends Signy and Jed on the run, desperate to flee London and escape to the small village where Signy grew up. Determined to protect her son, Signy will do almost anything to survive as the world falls apart around them. But she has no idea what is waiting for them outside the city....

©2021 Susannah Wise (P)2021 Orion Publishing Group
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Critic reviews

"I absolutely devoured this book. It has everything I love - great characters, intrigue, action, heart, drama and hope. Cannot recommend it enough." (Aisling Bea)

"Poignant and perfect." (Christina Dalcher, author of Vox)

"[An] amazing futuristic novel.... Do yourself a favour and a pick up a copy now. It's fantastic." (Paul Bettany)

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The kid is 6 not 60

What ruins a book? In this case one of the things is the kid. He is 6 but he speaks and behaves like anywhere between 6 and 60. Then add the audio narration (if I hear "mama" or "dada" ever again, it will be to soon)--the audio narrator is a woman and the kid sounds like a 6-yr-old who talks about quantum mechanics and is impatient with his stupid mother. What "age" he is depends on what the author needs him to do/be in the story.

And Sig, the Mom. She, and the whole story started out well, but it gets progressively worse and worse. The woman only makes dumb decisions. Her only logical decision was to go to her mom's in the country. Her mom is old and sick, but she also thinks she might run into an old friend who can help and there's water there.

After the awful thing that happens, about all she says to her kid are one-word answers and short sentences, while the kid babbles more and more--and also starts treating him like he's older than she is, and she goes from loving to being really mean. It doesn't help that she has to keep up a lie, but then she's horrible about it when Obnoxious Kid Who's Not a Kid keeps badgering her.

It's absurd.

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