Thank you to Net Galley and Atria Books for an advanced copy of this e-book.

A speculative climate fiction story that starts in the future in Nuuk, Greenland. Larch and Kristina met in the "Great Transition" as they battled the destruction of climate devastation. After they married they moved to Nuuk and had Emi. At one point Kristina leaves to go back to underground fight against climate destruction, leaving her husband and daughter. They rarely hear from her and are not even sure if she is still alive.

The story is told from Larch's perspective from the past growing up in the Great Transition; and from Emi's viewpoint in high school desperate to know where her mother is and if they will see her again.

If you like Climate Fiction, you will like this book and the mystery of finding out what happened to Kristina.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Simon & Schuster Atria Books for gifting me a digital ARC of this wonderful debut novel by Nick Fuller Googins - 5 stars!

Climate change has definitely changed the future, and a movement of workers inspires the world to band together to save the planet and rebuild a new society for all. They call it The Great Transition. Teenager Emi Vargas was born post-Transition, into a utopia compared to the world known by previous generations. Her parents both suffered and sacrificed, playing pivotal roles in The Great Transition, but now their marriage is deteriorating. And when Emi’s mother goes missing amidst a shocking new political upheaval, Emi’s illusion of comfort and safety is shattered.

Wow - I'm not always very into dystopian books like this - real life is scary enough. As I read this book, wildfires were burning in Hawaii and a hurricane was heading to Los Angeles, after the world experienced the hottest summer on record. But this book is about more than just climate control and politics in the future. It's about family - the struggles one family faced amidst all this turmoil, how differently they processed their experiences, and how they viewed the world on the other side. It's about hope - and the biggest hope I took away is that this author is an elementary school teacher. Let's pray that he imparts that hope and wisdom forward to the next generation. I loved the sections where Emi was interviewing her mom for a big school report - and it came with marks and comments from her teacher! Don't miss this amazing debut!

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

5 stars

I loved this book. My favorite genre is dystopian/end of the world and The Great Transition has that in spades. But the best part is showing how with great effort the world can be saved. Set in the near future, 30 year prior a massive 20 million person Peace Corp type deployment changed the worlds landscape to help fight the devastating impact of climate change. Sixteen years ago the world hit zero net emissions.

Larch, Kristina and Emi live in Greenland. Larch and Kristina were both well known decades ago during the Great Transition period of building. During a celebration, climate criminals are assassinated and Kristina goes missing. Told in alternating POV of 15 yo Emi and her father Larch, the book covers the current day and Larch and Kristina's histories growing up and meeting. There is a ton of tension between Emi and her mom and I loved how we learn about Kristina's life from Emi's homework assignment.

So much to think about after finishing the book. We need further drastic change to our behaviors and technology to save our world. But the book gave me hope that it can be done.

TW: eating disorder

I read an advanced readers copy from #NetGalley courtesy of #ATRIA press and #SimonandSchuster. This is a debut novel by Nick Fuller Goggins, which is in a speculative post "climate crisis world" where the polar ice caps have melted, causing flooding and destruction of major cities, a world where climate change has caused droughts, wildfires, and more. The story takes place 16 years after the "great transition" to net zero emissions occurred, and where the world in terms of climate criminals known as the destorying class.

The story is that of a teenage girl Emi, who is the daughter of two climate heroes, Larch and Kristen, who played a major role in the transition to Net Zero. But it s also the story of the broader political conflict, which still plays out, even though the political borders of the world have been redefined due to the inability to live in many parts of the globe. It is also the story of family conflict, and ideological extremism.

I would call this a speculative science fiction novel of sorts, which fits in the post-apocalypse genre, although the apocalpyse wasn't plague or nuclear war. It is a book I wanted to love, but for many reasons simply couldn't. The story is told in a combination of alternating chapters written from the perspective of the father and daughter, and with chapters that are flash backs to the age during the great transition, and chapters focused on the current storyline. The chapters written from Emi's perspective include draft pages of a high school history project she is writing, interviewing her mom.

The constant switching makes the book hard to follow at times. I know there is a lot of positive hype for it, but I found the book frustrating at times. I think the author used too many plot devices, and it did not work nearly as well as it could have, if the story was told more linearly. In many ways, there are two stories being told, but neither is as good as it could be.

There is a lot of potential in the book, but I think it could be stronger.

Congratulations to Nick Fuller Googins on the publication of his debut novel The Great Transition. This is very approachable climate fiction (cli-fi) set about 40 years in the future after a climate crisis irreversibly changed life on Earth as we know it.

Larch and Kristina are heroes of the post-Transition period. In their youth, they performed dangerous tasks during numerous deployments to stabilize conditions. They marry and have a daughter Emi, and the novel is told from each of their viewpoints in alternating chapters. The plot combines family drama, suspense, and political tension with moments of humor and music references.

I appreciated that the story is set years after the climate crisis rather than during the time of devastation, although readers learn about those years in flashbacks from Larch and Kristina. Emi has some disordered behaviors that felt realistic and were handled with care. I could easily picture the scenes in this novel without a great deal of world building.

I was part of the first group of readers the author discussed his novel with, thanks to Cindy Burnett and her Thoughts From a Page Patreon group. Nick is a teacher who cares deeply about his students and the environment. During our conversation, he shared several pieces of 'behind the scenes' information including the evolution of the cover design.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for the review copy of this novel.

I have really been fascinated by "cli-fi" books the past few years so was very excited to get an ARC of this one and dive in. This is a slow but interesting story set in a post-climate change world where the Earth has achieved net zero emissions after a very costly and tragic situation and revolution.

There are three narratives going on - a hero father, politically active mother, and their daughter, Emi. The timelines also shift from a NOW perspective and then also give you glimpses of the past and how the couple met, how the world changed due to climate issues and political warfare and Emi growing up in this new world.

I much preferred the NOW perspectives - how Emi dealt with this new world as a student and daughter and the thrilling aspect of the mother going missing and the father/daughter pair going on a journey to find her, which much more happening that would be a spoiler if I went into.

I found the climate aspects of this story interesting, but was much more invested in the family dynamics and the on the edge of your seat moments throughout the novel.

One big thing that kept me from flying through this book and rating it higher was choice to NOT use quotations throughout the novel. I know this is starting to be more common but it just throws me off and makes my reading experience a tad slower than I like because I'm constantly having to pay attention to what is an actual conversation and who is speaking. I know this is a me problem and may not be for you - but just something to know going into this one.

Overall, this is definitely a novel I would recommend and was made all the more relevant and tragic that I was reading this while seeing all the news of the horrible situation in Hawaii. My heart goes out to anyone affected by this.

Thank you to NetGalley & Atria books for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Fine, I'll admit it: the first thing about this book that caught my eye was the cover. So sue me. But I am so glad it did, because it was great, and a very "me" book! The world has tried to bounce back after climate change brought it to the brink. It's interesting, starting the story after the dramatic bits, the catastrophic bits, went down, and now the world is in the middle of trying to rebuild, to make changes. We meet a family, teenage Emi and her parents Larch and Kristina who are living in a new city in Nuuk Greenland. They seem a lot like a current era family at first look, Emi is having some typical teen struggles with friends and extracurriculars, and Larch and Kristina are seeing quite a bit of degradation in their marriage. When Emi has to interview them (and others) for her school project for the Great Transition, she (and we, the reader) are gifted with their stories of how they contributed to the world getting to where it is today.

In the midst of hearing about Emi's project, and seeing how the world has changed, Kristina leaves to volunteer in New York City, which is basically a mess, and she goes AWOL. Meanwhile, the celebration for the Great Transition has been disrupted by an attack by a revolutionary group. Larch becomes quite worried about Kristina, so they head to old America to find her, and hopefully rescue her. But nothing is what it seems at first look, and Larch and Kristina have grown more apart than he even realized.

The story alternates between past and present, and we get to see the world as it was when it collapsed, how it was during the collapse, and then the process to rebuild. And of course, we get to see the current society, as well as the problems that are underlying in it, that perhaps the citizens were unaware of, much as we throw ourselves into denial about our current state of affairs. It also focuses a lot on family, and how changes in the family happen. The characters have to do a lot of introspection, and figuring out what they want, and what they want their role in this world to be.

It is certainly a quieter book, for the most part, but is certainly character and growth driven. It is also so thought provoking, because in this book, a lot of people stand up and do their part to help rebuild the world. I simply do not know that people would actually do that in our world, and it certainly makes one think. One thing that was a bit troubling for me was the lack of quotation marks around discussion, it sometimes took me a bit to realize that someone was speaking. I don't know if this is just in the unfinished copy or whether it is just like that, but anyway, that is just a nitpicky thing for me. Oh, and bonus points that the WNBA is a big part of this story! I loved that, because I freaking love seeing women's sports celebrated (in this case, even more so than men's!)

Bottom Line: Thought provoking and lovely, The Great Transition focuses on family and rebuilding, and who you want to be in the world you find yourself in.

This debut novel is part of the new genre of climate fiction, set in an indeterminate time maybe 50 or 75 years in the future. The works has gone through an awful climate crisis with wildfires and rising waters, but it’s now 16 years since the world achieved net zero emissions during “the great transition”. The book focuses on a family who live in Greenland. It alternates perspectives between a 15 year old girl named Emi and her father Larch (with his chapters sometimes set in the present and sometimes in the past), along with interview transcripts between Emi and her mother for a school project. Then “climate criminals” start being killed and Emi and her father can’t get in touch with her mother and start looking for.

With so many crazy weather phenomena being reported by the news, the topic of climate change is certainly a timely and important one. The concept of this one is great, and it was very atmospheric with good world building. However, in other respects, the execution of this one just wasn’t there for me. Most importantly, I felt like this book at a minimum glorified the idea of violent revolution, if not outright suggesting that it’s ok to assassinate people. Climate change is bad, but I don’t believe all corporations and rich people are evil and should be killed! I found the message very heavy handed, and I’ve loved other climate fiction books - indeed, The Light Pirate was one of my top ten of last year.

In addition, Emi was a very annoying character, and her chspters felt weirdly YA in a book that is marketed as adult fiction. I also found her eating disorder a strange and totally unnecessary plot point.

I think this book also may have suffered from comparison because I read Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng a few weeks ago. That one is more political dystopian rather than climate but has a similar structure and was much more successfully done. However, I have seen some early raves for The Great Transition though, so if you like climate fiction, maybe you’ll like this one better than I did.

The Great Transition delivers a climate fiction novel that looks back at the struggle to attain climate utopia. It is told from three points of view, Kristina (mother), Larch (father), and Emi (their 15 year old daughter) and while the story of this family allows us to more impactfully experience the hardships endured prior to their current existence, it was challenging reading about their losses. Some of the conditions were cruel physically, emotionally, and mentally—frighteningly real. I actually found it difficult to relate to these characters as they have lived unimaginable lives that highlight their bravery and reslilience. Emi’s sections obviously skew more toward YA as she is a teenager, but I did not find that too distracting. The portions of the plot I enjoyed the most were the sections devoted to the transition. I wanted to know even more about some of the projects that designed to correct the damage to the earth and even how they worked cooperatively to make things better. I felt some internal conflict over a couple plot points, including the parenting of Emi as well as how some of the population dealt with “climate criminals”. The found family woven into the story really helped this not feel too overwhelming or sad. The story was compelling and unique, I felt the world-building was handled particularly well as it felt real yet fantastic at the same time. I would have enjoyed even more detail about their solutions, but I know some feel overwhelmed by this so the balance was good. Overall this is a thought-provoking read that would be perfect for discussion and book club.

Thanks to Atria for the ARC and Book Club Favorites for the finished copy of this book!

I really loved the premise and potential of this book. The concept of knowing we have everything we need to get to net zero emissions and slow or halt climate change is so important. We’re drawn into the story of the Vargas family, getting a YA perspective from daughter Emi and a dual timeline perspective from her parents, who played pivotal roles in The Great Transition to save the planet. It ended up feeling a little too much like a slow burn thriller with the missing mother piece - and those work for a lot of people, but not for me. I also understand the role of big corporations and the rich as being more pivotal in climate change, but taking them out seemed a little extreme. While I loved the concept, I didn’t love the follow through.

Emi Vargas does not remember a time before the world transitioned following a climate crisis. But she is tired of being constantly reminded how fortunate she is to have been born after that event, even by her parents, who were both key figures in the years leading up to the transition. When the world's seeming harmony is exploded by an outbreak of violence on a day meant to celebrate the transition, Emi's mother, Kristina, disappears -- and it seems like she may have been involved in some way in the violence. So Emi and her father, Larch, leave their home in Greenland for New York City, now a shell of its former self, to try to find Kristina and bring her home, before others who seem to want to do her harm locate her. The narrative alternates between the present day and events leading up to the transition, and the roles that Larch and Kristina played in those events.

This is a thought-provoking and highly original novel, with strongly drawn characters, an engaging mystery, and a well-developed description of a potential near future.

Highly recommended!

I was reading the book on a flight when the pilot asked what it was about and upon replying "the climate crisis" he responded, "oh that sounds boring." And that, dear fellow readers, is exactly why this book hits terrifyingly close to home and, in my option, makes it an absolute must-read.
The Great Transition addresses more than just the potential future of our planet, though, but focuses on a family - parents: Kristina & Larch (both climate fighters/protectors who played great roles in saving the planet) and their daughter, Emi, who's battling anxiety and an (mostly unaddressed) eating disorder while constantly being told how lucky she is to have the planet she's on and how much worse everything could be. As a millennial who's still constantly told that I have no leg to stand on in complaining about 7% home mortgage rates when my parents faced much higher and so-on-and-so-forth in the buck-up-buttercup, you've-got-it-good narrative, I totally related to Emi's frustration. Just because things are better doesn't mean people can't still feel bad. At her core, though, Emi really seemed to crave knowledge and cling to the nostalgia of her parents beautiful romance in the midsts of global disaster, and I deeply felt that as well.
I must say, though, that this book, at least the arc, was confusing. The lack of quotation around dialogue made me re-read a lot and the constantly jumping from POV and time periods had me questioning where I was at in the story often. A little more organization would have made this book more recommendable for me, but as-is I fear it may go over some heads. Still excellent and thought-provoking.

This climate fiction book makes me hope and pray that Nick Fuller Goggins doesn't actually have a crystal ball - but also fear that he very well may. Each page is a vivid depiction of humanity fighting to overcome a climate collapse and thrive on the other side of the fall. In present day we follow the simmering anger and lingering political battle that still rages 16 years after the world was pulled back from the brink of collapse. We also flash back to the horrors of the wildfires, floods, and heatwaves that led to the heartbreaking near destruction of life as we know it, and the heroism and hard work of those that refused to give up on humanity.

This debut novel creates an alternate future that feels frighteningly possible, which left me feeling unsettled. This cli-fi book took things a step further than others I've read by capturing not only the environmental crisis, but also the political obstinance that contributed to both the problem and the solutions. The characters are all dealing with a variety of traumas and it was interesting to see the varied ways they processed their experiences. Few of the characters were likable, and trigger warnings abound. The second half of the book picked up the pace and became what I will call a cli-fi thriller, which was a lovely intersection of my reading tastes. This book, and these issues, will be on my mind for quite some time. I'm looking forward to seeing what Nick Fuller Goggins brings us next!

Big thanks to Atria Books and the author for the opportunity to read The Great Transition via NetGalley prior to its publication date in exchange for my honest review.

A utopian story, based in the near future, after a world changing climate crisis. Told from 2 points of view. One, the point of view of Larch, a Dad, who lived through the challenging times of "The Great Transition". The other view, his daughter Emi, who was born after the crisis. We learn about life during the crisis from Larch but also through interviews Emi had with her mother for a school project.

This small family was at the core of this story, but there was also a political element. Given the state the world is in currently, I found this story very interesting and somewhat alarming. It does kind of pose the question of who is responsible for stopping climate change and are we responsible for the world we leave for future generations.

The story was a little repetitive in parts which, at times, made it a little boring, but at its core it was well written and certainly felt like something that could potentially happen one day soon.

Thank You NetGalley and Atria Book for the free e-galley.

I absolutely adored this book. Many thanks to Atria Books and Netgalley for the ARC, and to Water Street Books in Exeter NH for recommending this so highly!

Here are five things I loved about this five star read:

1) The prose was wonderful. It truly set the scene, and adapted to fit each character well. I’m actually kind of sad this is a debut because I would like to read more books by this author ASAP.

2) The dual POVs were very strong. At first I wished we had Kristina’s as well, but the further I got in, the more glad I was we didn’t because it heightened the mystery aspect of the plot, and because I think we got just enough of her motivations (especially through the essay device used) from the others’. I loved how they were balanced, and how each character’s motivations, needs, and actions were realistic for their personalities (even when they were diametrically opposed from one another).

3) The references to pop culture from our current time and recent past grounded the story in the real world, which made it all the more frightening.

4) I never felt the author was over-explaining the world of his story, which is rampant in a lot of speculative/science fiction. The reader gets just enough information at the right time to propel the story along, and to keep them invested.

5) Reading this during the ongoing crisis in Maui has been especially eye opening and powerful because it shows that the events of this story can happen, and likely will continue to if we don’t do something. Climate change is one of the biggest threats to our lives right now and if we, as a global community, don’t act as soon as possible, it will be too late. We only have one world and we need to save it.

I can’t recommend this book enough. The Great Transition is out today!

This NetGalley ARC is a 2.5* for me, rounding up since its a debut novel and many of my complaints were subjective; plenty of people will really like this book.

I picked this up because it sounds right up my alley: post climate apocalypse sci-fi for fans of Station Eleven? Sign me up. But it did not work for me.

I had a few minor complaints (you're not Cormac McCarthy, please use quotation marks for dialog), but one main one:

The target audience for this seems to be people who in 2023 are cheering on protestors who are glueing their hands to highways and blocking traffic, because the climate messaging is as subtle as an anvil. It presumes that climate change is the fault of a few hundred greedy capitalist "climate criminals" and assumes you will be sympathetic to the terrorist protagonist who helps hunt them down, years after the crisis is averted. The other two main characters are annoying and unsympathetic in their own ways, and I had no character I latched onto.

Even if you as a reader are someone who believes climate change is a major threat that requires massive effort to rectify, this premise may be too un-nuanced for you.

On the plus side, the author skillfully handles three shifting POV characters across two timelines, and the plot does drive along nicely to keep me reading. For many people this will be a four or five star book.

Emi, her dad Larch, and mother Kristina, live in our world after big corporations and governments have almost ruined the planet with their greed. Instead, a movement takes place and the world is brought back from the brink of complete disaster to a Zero Day, where emissions are zero. The scary thing about this story is just how possible the whole thing is. Flashbacks talk about how people attempted to conserve and save the planet only to be thwarted by big business that only cared about the bottom line. Racism, specifically, wasn't a major topic, but immigrant children being kept in cages is mentioned as well as a general reference to the very real idea that marginalized communities bear the brunt of environmental hazards, natural and manmade. When a group has to decide between the 1%s (not specifically referred to as such) and the regular population, the author was able to remind us of this without being preachy. I enjoyed the narration being spread between the different family members along with Emi's class project that helped provide background and involved interviews where the reader gets to know Kristina better. The premise for the story is well thought out and the characters were realistic. I also can't fail to mention Emi's love of "oldies" with the inclusion of several closer-to-contemporary than old artists. I'd love to see an author playlist for the book and even went so far as to look up the only artist I hadn't previously heard of. I finished reading the book with Valerie Jones as my soundtrack. What a soulful voice! And, thankfully, just like the real world, the ending wasn't a perfectly tied bow. I appreciated how the author respected the reader's intelligence and didn't try to force feed a happily-ever-after type ending.

Ironically- or not- I finished reading this thought provoking novel as Maui burned and the earth experienced the hottest temperatures ever recorded. Kristina and Larch met fighting fires, married, moved to the relative safety of Nuuk, and had Emi, their beloved daughter. But now, Larch, against Kristina's wishes, takes Emi to the annual celebration of the day the world hit zero emissions- and everything they've built is upended. While this is very much a cautionary tale about climate change it's even more the story of the family. Larch and Emi both offer their POVs, with Larch moving back and forth in time, while Kristina's life is exposed through an interview with Emi and in Larch's thoughts. Kristina is determined- and she's kept secrets from Larch and Emi. Larch is no less focused but he's all about Emi. And Emi has mental health issues but she's one heck of a strong teen. There's good world building (all the more worrisome lately) and a sadly plausible scenario. The characters are terrific and kudos for the storytelling. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. Terrific read.

Thanks to Atria and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this title prior to publication. This is an immersive climate fiction/dystopian story following a family in two timelines - the present, where Emi's mom goes missing, and The Great Transition, when her parents met fighting climate devastation. Emi and her dad tell the story in their POV, with occasional school projects where Emi has interviewed her mom about the past. Readers will enjoy the nods to many genres of music from "the oldies", as Emi has a vast music history knowledge and sinks into music during stressful times. This propulsive novel would be a great book club book, as there is much to think about and discuss about our world today and what is coming. My main problem was the portions of Emi's school project - on the kindle I could not adjust the font, and the print was tiny and hard to read. I hope the publisher has solved this for the future digital version..

The Great Transition is a book about life after a global disaster. We follow a family of three living in the new settlement known as Nuuk, and we are about 15 years out from the major disaster that altered the world. Each of the parents in the story have a different perspective on what happened and how to address it in the present, which causes a lot of tension in their relationship. Our main character, Emi, their 15-yr old daughter, is in the middle, trying to determine how she feels about things by asking her parents a lot of questions about their past experience, while also navigating the day to day angst of being a teenager and finding her own place in the world. I was really hoping to love this book, but unfortunately, the writing style did not work for me. I enjoy dystopian novels, but the frequent use of terminology that was not explained or made clear in context continued to take me out of the story. The writing prevented me from feeling any sort of attachment to any of the characters, and unfortunately, I did DNF this book at the 52% mark.