Description
From award-winning author Shivaun Plozza comes this moving coming-of-age story about family, picking your battles and the transformative power of science.
When crop circles appear in Tully, North Queensland, twelve-year-old Dell knows it's a hoax. She's a future climate scientist who believes in facts, not science fiction. But Dell's estranged mum is an extraterrestrial fanatic. She blusters back into town armed with alien conspiracy theories and a dazzling smile.
If Dell can prove the crop circle is fake, surely her mum will hightail it out of Tully again, preferably before she causes Dell's dad and three sisters further heartbreak. But as her mother's claims grow more out of this world and alien fever takes over the country, Dell worries she's fighting a lost cause. How can she convince anyone of the truth when they're all so desperate to believe a lie?
Review
Dell lives in Tully in North Queensland with her dad, her older sister Summer, and her two younger sisters. Her mum left them five years ago to follow her dream of finding aliens, and although she always promised to come back she didn’t.
When crop circles appear in Tully, Dell is certain that they are fake. After all, she believes in science, and saving the planet is really important to her. But suddenly her mum has reappeared and whipped the whole town into a frenzy, and alien fever has taken over everywhere. Even Summer wants to stay with their mum, but Dell can’t bear the thought of her leaving too.
Dell desperately wants her mum to leave before she hurts her family all over again, but her mum manages to convince the family that she really does miss them and they are important to her. Can Dell prove it’s all fake, and that her mum does lie a lot, when everyone is eagerly waiting for the aliens to make contact?
This is a book full of family, friendship, love and conflict. Dell is a great character who is struggling with so many emotions and leans heavily on her grandmother and friends. The family dynamics are beautifully written, and with Dell’s determination to save the planet an underlying theme of climate change is woven throughout the book. This is a really easy to read story that will keep you entertained right to the end. I highly recommend this for those in upper primary and above who love a great story.
