Engaging with the ideas of ice-caps melting and potential consequences, whilst talking with animals is a great childhood combo, and I generally do love a post-apocalypse tale - this one might be suited to older children though as it is a pretty bleak setting a lot of them time. I found it hard to be fully invested in the side characters, although Tilde has a lot of potential, and this book definitely reads as setting up for further stories in a series, so hopefully those relationships are deepened.

The inclusion of Inuit folklore made for an interesting hook, but unfortunately I didn't feel that it translated into the rest of the story. The main character came across as very young - maybe eight or nine - an age which wasn't well suited to the plot. The plot itself was predictable, and although the content was suitable Middle-Grade material, the writing style felt more appropriate for a chapter book. Altogether, the elements didn't come together for me.

This book was just strange. And I don't mean that as a compliment this time.

I'm all for blending sci-fi and fantasy, but Maxwell didn't really make it work here. Reality is a dystopic, post-climate apocalypse nightmare where people are succumbing to this electric disease, but then Mani goes off into a fantastical snow world with talking animals and her ancestors. It felt so disconnected and disjointed whenever Mani jumped between these two worlds. I did like that a drawing of the mask indicated the transition between reality and fantasy between paragraphs, though. Additionally, the name of the disease, Terra Electrica, isn't even dropped til the last few chapters. I know it's the title of the book, and, given the circumstances, it makes sense Mani wouldn't know its name at the beginning, but to drop it so late feels like negligence on the author's part (Or the editor. I'm not sure). The main side character Leo is literally a former scientist from the corporation treating the disease! He should know the name! (Though that wasn't properly explained, either, considering the people who currently worked there didn't recognize him. The worldbuilding of this book has so many holes you might as well call it swiss cheese)

The characters were - certainly there. Mani could have been good in a vacuum, but she doesn't have much personality to show on paper. The side characters sucked, primarily because it was with Leo for the majority of the book. Leo uses/manipulates Mani in order to get to the obviously super evil corporation for saving-the-world purposes. Two villains make brief appearances near the end, and they're more like annoyingly caricatures of apocalyptical evil obstacles for Mani to overcome rather than fully realized characters. The only slightly interesting side character was Tilde, but she comes way too late in the story and only have little time to do so much.

The writing had some merits. There were some setting descriptions I liked a lot, but most of it was dry and failed to draw any emotion out of me. The pacing is also incredibly slow, since most of it is spent on Mani and Leo's misadventures to the corporation. The chapters were really short, too. Like, five pages per chapter. I don't understand why such a short book needed to be divided into 46 chapters.

All in all, this as just not it for me. The end was an obvious set up for book two, but I just do not care enough about this world or characters to continue reading it. If you want a middle grade post-climate apocalypse, read The Flicker by H.E. Edgmon when it comes out. That book did the concept much better than this book.

I’ll be very honest, for a middle grade story, I found the delivery of this story to be very depressing. I love a dystopian story, but found the lack of hope running through this made it difficult to connect with.

The central themes of the environment collapsing and humanity struggling along are great for young readers to read and think about. However, the manner in which this sory is told is more suitable for YA readers. There should be a forewarning of violence and death for more sensitive viewers.

This is only book 1 and hopefully the tone will change as the story moves on.

An electrifying adventure story that runs through with a mysterious current about the source of a strange electrical-based illness and a young girl who appears immune and despite her paintful past may be able to find the strength to solve this mystery and rebuild her future. The writing is crisp, poignant and full of spark.

I had to DNF at 35%. I tried so hard to get into this book but I just kept having to reread so many times for 2 days. I was super excited to read this story because I thought it was up my alley but unfortunately, it was not the case. I feel like it wasn’t catching my attention and I would get bored easily.

I don’t want to discourage anyone from reading this book, so I suggest for everyone to give it a try if they are considering reading this one. I may still read this story in the future and change my review.

Thank you so much to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for this e-ARC.

I have mixed feelings about this book. Firstly, it was a pretty quick read. The main character is a bit bland but has a slightly different take on the 'savior' role. The side characters aren't great, though Tilde who appears towards the end is a bit more interesting.
There's a lot of darkness in this for a kids book. It's a quite depressing story of a future world where basically everything is dying, including all of humanity. There is an awful disease that is killing almost everyone and it seems there's no cure.
There's a few specks of light, but honestly the book just felt so depressing.
It's clearly set up for a book 2, but honestly...I dont know that I have it in me to read it.

This went down well with the older children who discussed climate issues around the story. The younger ones for a bit bored (sorry) and wandered off to read by themselves. I think that if there was a sequel it would make more sense and reveals towards the end of the book suggest that this may happen.

This book tells the adventure of Mani searching for her father with the ‘help’ of Leo the scientist, whilst suffering with an ‘electric disease’. I tried really really hard to get on with this book. I felt the author’s description of the landscapes whilst on the journey to Ark a stark warning of climate change which feels really revelant for young readers. However I just couldn’t get invested in Mani. I didn’t feel myself routing for her and sadly gave up at 56% as I was utterly bored with the story.

What worked:
The plot features two characters as a highly contagious, deadly disease has killed everyone in Mani’s village. She’s been told the scientists at the nearby laboratory are evil and she should never go near them. However, circumstances drive her to desperation and Mani finds herself inside the building searching for food. She meets a scientist and discovers they have something strange in common. They are both infected with the illness but they haven’t died, yet. They soon form a partnership and venture off on an adventure to find help.
Mani inherits a wooden mask from her mother that transports her to a frigid world where she meets a polar bear guardian guide. Ooshaka offers her counsel although many of Mani’s questions go unanswered. Her mother never taught Mani about the mask so readers are left to wonder what other secrets it might hold. This relic is a spiritual connection to memories of Mani’s indigenous ancestors. Mani also meets Crow who offers more information about her situation but still causes leaves her with more uncertainties.
The plot presents an interesting blend of science and faith as the characters strive to survive an apocalyptic melting of the ice caps. Leo and Mani encounter evidence of flooding, devastation, and death while trying to make their way to other scientists at the Ark. They find red bones of those who’ve died from the disease and Leo’s map is inaccurate due to lands that are now underwater. Unmoving, broken cars sit where they finally stop, and random, desperate survivors are willing to kill to stay alive. The disease makes everyone paranoid and anybody showing symptoms is seen as a threat. Mani faces danger from every stranger due to their terrifying fear of the illness.
What didn’t work as well:
The introduction of Mani’s character seems to imply she’s somewhat unaware of how things work in the modern world but she doesn’t seem as naïve as the story moves along. Her background story is a bit fuzzy. However, the epilogue reveals more about Mani’s origins so the sequel should have more clarity.
The final verdict:
This book establishes the scenario for the series so readers should be prepared to continue with the second book. The last fourth of the book reveals the underlying conflict with some twists as nature and humanity try to strike a balance. Overall, I recommend this inventive story for your reading pleasure.

Terra Electrica: The Guardians of the North is the debut novel from Antonia Maxwell, releasing on 22nd October from Neem Tree Press.

In the wake of a devastating disease unleashed by a mysterious red rock revealed by melting polar ice, Mani’s village succumbs to the pandemic. Her mother is claimed by the sickness, and with resources dwindling, her father ventures out in search of food, only to have been gone for weeks.

Compelled by desperation, Mani ventures to the shoreline, encountering a Zientzia, part of the group her father accused of causing the outbreak. She stealthily follows him, discovering not only his access to food and shelter, but also the telltale signs of infection within him. In a twist of fate, as she goes to tear away, he reveals she’s also diseased, mirrored in her electrified gaze.

In a brief second of touch, as Leo grasps an electric device from Mani, his disease transfers to her, healing him. With the prospect of Mani being a potential cure on them, Leo resolves to seek out Arc, his employer and Mani’s last hope for finding her father.

Their journey is fraught with savages, environmental decay, wild animals, and the heavy weight of grief and emotion. Will they overcome these obstacles in time to reunite with Mani’s father and turn the tide against the global plague?

The environmental commentary displayed throughout Terra Electrica is food for thought for anyone reading this in 2024. As we continue to navigate the effects of pollution, environmental collapse, and global powers who care rather minutely about the planet’s future, the novel does have you thinking whether this could very well be our own future. Additionally, the concept of a worldwide pandemic is certainly not something new to us post-covid, so a lot of readers will be able to see the possibility in this story.

Mani’s internal voice is wonderful, despite sometimes seeming a bit too old for her age. There were times I had to remind myself this was young character and not someone in their late teens. Her resilience, resourcefulness, and ability to navigate this planet and a higher plane with the help of her mum’s mask, she is a highly complex character, whose internal voice is resolute and insightful to the post-disease world around her. Her love of animals and the use of animals throughout the novel too is incredible and will certainly get plenty of middle grade reader onboard.

However, Mani’s external voice seems to lack the same strength as we, the reader, are given access too from sharing her perspective. So much so that, at certain points, there felt to be a slight disconnect in the girl who spoke with people outwardly, and the girl she was inside. Having the capability to be quite anxious and shy myself, I understand this, but I wish this was almost an explanation for this disconnect.

There as several scenes throughout Terra Electrica that very much fell into the category of tell and not show and, when amongst some amazing descriptive writing, it can jolt readers out of the story and disturb that experience. Furthermore, in regards to some of the relationships Mani creates, especially with Leo, they don’t seem to reach the zeitgeist of their potential meaning that when events like those at the end occur, I have very little emotional buy in, nor care if they’re resolved in future novels.

Finally, the introduction of a villain and the twist to reveal them as such towards the last 20% of the novel came across rushed. We’re led to believe throughout the book that Arc could potentially be a good place, as Leo himself is more on the good side of things than the bad. However, when we discover that Arc are the villains heralded by a doctor that we’ve not heard of throughout the first 80% of the novel, it didn’t get me excited for their takedown nor invested. Should Mani return in future iterations of Terra Electrica, I hope she brings more spark and lightning to her relationships with both her comrades and her enemies.

As the subjectivity of reading is part of its beauty, I can see some readers adoring this book, and it’s snowy, wintery settings make an October release perfect.

This book is definitely different from the others I have read before. It is like pandemic meets parallel universe meets rewilding. It is definitely interesting to read and it is very well-written and fast-paced.

Thank you Netgalley, Neem Tree Press, and the author.

This story was very unique I don't think I've read anything else like it. It deals a lot in loss and I think the author does a good job telling the story in a way children can understand.