Australian author Inga Simpson has already been the post-apocalyptic well with her novel The Last Woman in the World. She returns to this vein but from a slightly different angle, and a slightly less dire situation in her Young-Adult styled new novel The Thinning.
It is the near future, Fin is a teenager who lives with her family live off the grid near the Siding Springs observatory in North West New South Wales. But they are forced to go on the run when the authorities come. Those authorities are actually trying to track down Terry, one of a new species of humans called “Incompletes”. Fin’s parents have a plan that is connected to an upcoming solar eclipse. For… reasons Fin is asked to take Terry with her on a mission to be on the top of a certain mountain when the eclipse happens.
This then becomes essentially a teen road trip featuring the resourceful but distrustful Fin and the naïve and odd Terry. Along the way, Fin will reflect on the recent past and the genetic edicts coming from the government which forced her to drop out of school and that has led to experimentation on Terry.
The best aspect of this book lies in Simpson’s descriptions of the landscape. Fin travels from Siding Springs, next to the spectacular Warrumbungles National Park, through the Pilliga forest and across significant landscapes. She is also respectful of the Aboriginal connection to this landscape and their names for the places that Fin passes through. In her reflections, Fin also describes other significant parts of this landscape including the ancient but still extant fish traps at Brewarrina. The book is also full of beautiful descriptions of the night sky.
As already noted this is really YA fare. Young adults on the run, given a mission which involves them constantly having to outsmart the adult authorities. Starting off mutually distrustful but learning to trust each other (enemies to… not enemies). While Simpson makes it easy to care about these two, it is harder to understand the point of their mission and, given the seemingly global movement they are fighting against, what impact it would have in the long term.

The Thinning is a near future dystopian story in which author Inga Simpson highlights the ecological emergency that might await us. It is also a beautifully written love letter to nature and the stars which I found so compelling and readable.

Fin is a young girl who has grown up around an observatory in regional NSW where her mother, an astrophotographer and father, an astronomer both work. But at the start of the book we find that Fin and her mother Dianella are living off the grid in the bush with several others as the grim reality of the new world becomes clear. The sky has filled with man-made satellites man-made satellites, countless species have become extinct and the government is becoming increasingly interested in controlling young women's fertility in order to ensure the future of the human race. A stranger arrives setting off a chain of events that will see Fin embark on a cross country trek as a complete solar eclipse looms.

This is such a page turner of a book! Even though I was reading this on my computer (not my favourite way to read!) I managed to read it super-fast. I loved the writing, I loved the storyline with its dystopian, ecological disaster vibes and I loved that this was such a homage to nature. Fin is the main character and so it did come across a little bit YA which I wasn't expecting and this is the only reason it wasn't a 5 star read for me. But honestly this is just the tiniest of issues and I otherwise really enjoyed it. The ending was so well done.

I can see The Thinning being very popular in the coming months. It's a hard recommend from me!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Thank you @netgalley and @hachetteaus for my #gifted copy.

This book is a lot. Beautifully written, and set in a climate apocalypse near future. Except it's not really an apocalypse all at once, is it, but a slow slide toward extinction - or perhaps a different outcome. It's set over two days, and New South Wales heads towards a total eclipse, with flashbacks, or memories interspersed. I sometimes found the move between a touch jarring, but it was were the story was told. Much of the 'present' was just rushing through and around central NSW national parks.
This book is only depressing because it feels so true and so near. I won't say more because of spoilers but I thought the ending was spot on. You know those books that, as you rush towards the end you are just praying that the author doesn't mess it up? Inga Simpson does not. this book is a warning and a call to action.
I was given an e-Arc from NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for an honest review.

The Thinning is a plot-driven, eco-thriller that finds our protagonists racing throught outback NSW in the very new future, where extinctions are happening faster than we can count, technology is changing too fast in the hands of the unscrupulous and a new variety of human beings are being bred - the Incompletes. It would make for an exciting movie.

There are too many satellites orbiting around the Earth and star-gazing is becoming a thing of the past as it is too light to see them anymore. I learnt a lot about the three different types of twilight and civil disobedience.

I grew up in the area described by Simpson, so appreciated her beautiful word pictures.


[review link will be posted here closewr to pub. date]

An interesting and beautifully written novel. Fin is the daughter of astronomers and has watched the night sky become less and less dark as cities become brighter and more and more satellites are put in orbit. The novel is essentially a road trip where Fin and Terry (an ‘Incomplete) make their way to Mt Kaputar to see a solar eclipse. There’s more to the story and plenty of issues covered from the environment, biodiversity, adaptation, and more.

The Thinning is a passionate novel with a YA focus on the dangers of environmental destruction and warnings of a dystopian future. Fin and Terry are two engaging main leads and Terry is slowly revealed as ‘incomplete’’. Set against a handmaids tale future setting the young people walk through recognisable country with a dark and threatening backdrop. I would imagine this would be very effective to recommend to young climate activists and all those who care about
our future, thanks to @netgalley and Hackett for the opportunity to review this book prior to publication

A huge thank you to Hachette AUNZ and Netgalley for the ARC of this book.


This book was fascinating to read - and I loved that it was set in Australia, made it feel so much closer to home.

The description of the book describes it as a thriller but it felt a bit more sci-fi to me. There were some stressful moments but it was more about the overall journey.

The time skips sometimes left me a bit displaced but other than that I really enjoyed the story, it’s a bit different to what I usually read but it was great to watch the bond form between Finn and Terry while they make the tulmultuous trip to watch the eclipse.

I would’ve liked to know more about what happened to the others after the “event” went down at the end but again, that’s just me adding my 2 cents.

I loved the description at the end of places and people/ animals that were referenced in the book and a bit of history too.

This author does it again. Inga Simpson is a must read author for me and this book doesn’t disappoint. I loved the quality of the writing, the small nature details and the important narrative on the planet. Lots of action and human stories. Loved it - thank you to the author. Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher for an ARC.