The Raven's Song by Zana Fraillon and Bren MacDibble

There are three linked stories in this book written by two authors. Novels by two authors fascinate me. Perhaps the two voices  in this novel were penned one by each author - Bren MacDibble might have constructed the story of Shelby who lives in the future and Zana Fraillon perhaps tells the story of Phoenix who sees visions of the Raven girl. Phoenix lives with his Gran and aunt and his four siblings and there are hints that he is living in our present world especially when he uses his mobile phone. 

Here are some text quotes to give you a flavour of this writing and also some plot fragments:

Shelby:

In this future place only 350 people can live in each community. And each are allocated exactly seven hundred hectares. "Three hundred and fifty kind, ethical, truthful people on seven hundred hectares ... "

"The next township is beyond that fence line, 'bout two hundred and sixty kilometres south of us. ... (that) is a long way to walk, even if we were allowed out there. And the doctor has the only phone on our seven hundred, just for emergencies and government business ... "

"I'm co-owner of an egg farm with three hundred and eighty hens and twelve roosters. I'll never get a sibling coz of my da not wanting another partner even if one was allowed to come here, no matter how many times I tell him to ask, so one day this township will rely on me for all its eggs."

"there's only twelve school-age kids in this whole township ... No babies have been approved to be born for five years straight ... "

"people in the old days lived in giant mega-cities smothered in dirty clouds and had lots of technology and lived unsustainably and used fossil fuels and drowned the world in plastics and pollution and parts of the honoured world died ... and new diseases told hold and killed most of their children and now we have to stay in our township and keep our hair short and our hands clean ... "

"Lunch is the main meal of the day, all our township operating on solar ovens or solar-powered electric ones, coz even woodfire smoke is pollution and we're proud of our near-zero pollution. Although it's been a long time since the government drone's delivered us extra supplies as a prize for our efforts ... The drones used to arrive at least twice a month, bringing chocolate, fabrics, medicines and seeds ... "

When Shelby and her friend Davy are sent out to check on the fence they discover it has been cut and they see curious flower posies tied to objects along the path. They are forbidden from leaving their community but Shelby is curious and then they spy an old man. He is placing those posies along the path but where is he from and where is he going? The children follow him and they make an amazing discovery. He has led them to a ruined city. They watch as he heads into a building and inside they discover something shocking:

"There's shapes of things in there like rows of giant eggs. ... There's people in the egg things. How? Why? But little faces. Children! There's kids in them. Kids waiting to hatch?"

Meanwhile Phoenix keeps having visions of the raven-haired girl and a bog. He and his siblings know the bog is dangerous and they know to keep away but the youngest boy - Walter falls in. Phoenix does manage, after a dreadful nail biting struggle, to rescue his precious little brother but when the children come home something is wrong. Walter is unwell and so is Phoenix. The children are taken away and put into isolation in a medical facility. This strange new virus is dangerous and highly contagious. 

The third story comes through echoes of a poem or folk song - a song with a warning - which is quoted at the beginning of the book. Here is an extract:

Upon one moonlit night she came 

Down hillside steep and rocked

Into the place of inbetween

The Ravened Girl of the bog ...

Can you hear she calls for you?

Through time's great swirling fog

Listen, listen, listen ... 

Sings the Ravened Girl of the bog

Listen, listen, listen ...

Sings the Ravened Girl of the bog.

Have you ever listened the radio talking about books and just wanted to SCREAM!  On Saturday I was listening to our ABC Radio National program - The Bookshelf with Kate Evans and Cassie McCullagh. They were talking with a guest from New Zealand and as usual asked their guest about their current reading - books they have been enjoying. The guest, Claire Mabey, Founder of Verb Wellington, mentioned The Raven's Song. This is a book I have only just read. It is shortlisted for our CBCA (Children's Book Council of Australia) Book Awards Younger Readers category. I was a 2021-23 judge for this award in the Picture book Category. At our recent judges in Meeting in Melbourne the three Younger Readers judges talked very enthusiastically about this book and so I purchased it straight away. It was one that I had missed reading last year when it was released.  

Now back to my story. Why am I mentioning the book program and the interview? Because Claire Mabey said two things about this book - one surprising and one shocking! The Raven's Song as you can see has two authors. Claire Mabey claimed one of these authors is from New Zealand.  I needed to investigate this because we associate both with the children's literature here in Australia. Zana Fraillon is the author of the award winning book The Bone Sparrow (IBBY Australia Honour Book) and her new book (also a CBCA shortlisted title - The Way of the Dog)  and Bren MacDibble has three titles which I adored reading.

The Way of Dog

I now discover Bren MacDibble is originally from New Zealand but she lived in Melbourne for twenty years and now lives in Western Australia. 

How to Bee

Across the Risen Sea

The Dog Runner

Now for the shocking thing - Claire Mabey said she had just read The Raven's song to her own child aged 5! She does say it is a Middle Grade title but she read it to her young child who it seems followed this very complex story. In my view, The Raven's Song, will be enjoyed by mature readers aged 11+ although I should mention the publisher says 9+.  I guess Claire Mabey is very literary and so her child has probably been exposed to some wonderful fiction but I just despair that the general public listening to this broadcast will now think this is book (yes it is wonderful) is for a very young child - it is not. I hope penning the text quotes above demonstrate this.

This is a dystopian novel and that is one of my favourite genres. 

Judges comments about The Raven's Song: A stunning novel set in both the near and distant futures linked by the ancient motifs of the raven, the land and bog bodies preservation being the theme that ties everything together but never overshadows the characters' emotional journeys: Phoenix's loss and world in pieces, and Shel's discovery challenging everything she ever knew. Masterfully written and engaging, each object, action and word choice is purposeful. Pandemics, climate change and conservation, are the backdrop for this story, told in a way that never intrudes on the reader's journey and desire to explore the world. It provides parallels between our own reality and the resulting in an engaging and thought-provoking read.

In this video Bren and Zana talk about their book.

Personally I don't want to relate this book to our COVID world of the past two or three years. I didn't even think about the pandemic when I was reading this story - it was just so absorbing and intriguing and I really appreciated the way Zana Fraillon and Bren MacDibble made me work hard as a reader to follow their two very different stories. The ending was such a clever revelation and a jarring surprise. If you want to read more plot details click on these review comments:

Bren and Zana’s story is wonderful and evocative, and I loved that the uniqueness of the characters came through clearly and eloquently, allowing readers to inhabit the worlds and lives of Shelby and Phoenix. The Book Muse

The story will open up your mind, placing an emphasis on the connections that we have with people, caring for our planet and ancestry. Better Reading

One living in the future and one in the past, Shelby and Phoenix’s stories start separately and then entwine. Chapters alternate between them, revealing secrets one at a time. It’s exhilarating and addictive. Kids' Book Review

By coincidence I have just started reading another Australian middle grade novel by two authors - The Letterbox Tree by Rebecca Lim and Kate Gordon. It is due for publication in May 2023.

How I Saved the World in a Week by Polly Ho-Yen

Billy lives with his mum but right from the start is is very clear he is not living a normal life. Billy calls his mum by her name -  Sylvia and he has learned to be very careful of her changing moods. She keeps him moving from place to place and it is now two years since Billy has seen his dad, Steve. Constantly having to change schools means there is never time to make a friend. His mother also regularly takes him on adventures which were fun when he was young but now he finds confusing and at times even quite scary and she drills into him five important survival rules:

1. Always be prepared - have everything you need ready and with you at all times

2. Pay attention - keep constant observations of your surroundings

3. Trust no one - you may only be able to rely on yourself

4. Master your fears - through practice, planning and taking action

5.  Never stop trying - you must never give up!

These might be the rules but rules are made to be broken aren't they.  In his latest new school Billy finds a friend - a boy called Anwar so that might mean rule number three needs to change. 

Sylvia is becoming more and more strange. She goes out every night leaving Billy alone in their flat. She takes huge boxes with her and returns each time in the early hours of the morning. She is preparing for something. Then one day she takes Billy to a remote place - to a deserted building. She has been stockpiling food and other supplies. But why? Sylvia has also been teaching Billy all sorts of strange survival techniques which come from a very old book "How to Survive".

"The book has a musty odour, not horrible, but the sort of smell you notice immediately. A previous owner underlined words here and there. A few of the page corners have been bent over in neat triangles."

After a big crisis Billy is sent to live with his dad and he makes another unexpected friend. Thank goodness this friend is very prepared to break her promises. 

Publisher blurb: Billy’s mum isn’t like other mums. All she wants is to teach him the Rules of Survival – how to make fire, build shelter and find food. She likes to test Billy on the rules until one day she goes too far, and Billy is sent to live with a dad he barely knows. Then the world changes forever as people begin to be infected with a mysterious virus that turns their skin grey. As chaos breaks out, Billy has to flee the city. Suddenly he realises that this is what his mum was preparing him for – not just to save his family, but to save the whole world. 

How I saved the World in a Week has 375 pages but I read it in just one day because it is such a perfect page turner. I have given this book four stars but I nearly gave five - I just have a few very tiny niggles about the final scenes (I can't explain these because they would be spoilers). As one reviewer commented their are a few aspects of this story which might stretch credibility for adult reader.  Having said that I am sure Primary school aged readers will simply want to gobble up this action packed story of survival. 

This book does touch on issues of mental health in a parent - other books on this topic are The Illustrated Mum by Jacqueline Wilson; October October by Katya Balen; Waiting for Normal by Leslie Connor; and The Secrets we Keep by Nova Weetman. 

Once again Polly Ho-Yen shows her facility at injecting a thrilling element of sci-fi and mild horror into her stories of very real children and authentic depictions of relationships with family and friends. What could be a familiar tale of a young boy dealing with family break up and a parent with what we can see are mental health issues, becomes a nightmare battle for survival. Love Reading4Kids

This deeply unusual and moving story for middle-grade readers is part gripping zombie-thriller, part family drama. ... The core of the book, however, is Billy trying to find his place in the world as he struggles to be believed, being pulled in all directions and finding the courage to trust people – even when one of his mum’s top rules for survival is ‘trust no-one’ – with a powerful message that no matter who we are, we are always stronger together. Book Trust

The publisher and other reviewers suggest this book for ages 8+ but I am going to say 10+ would be a better fit. 

Companion reads:

The World ends in April

This is a very old book but it is well worth finding

A Chance of Safety

For readers who enjoy survival stories - The Honest Truth

Small as an Elephant