In the scorching summer of 2033, Gilbert Black is accused of being a firebug, just like hismother was thirteen years previously. That night a fire starts on his family’s farm. A fire with a tunnel in the centre of it. And that’s when things start to get really weird.
Pulled repeatedly back and forth through time, Gil finds himself at all the big Australian bushfires from the last two centuries. He searches across the years, determined to unlock the secret to his family’s legacy.
Gil can’t change the past, but can he learn from it in time to return home and save his family from the biggest inferno ever known?
Set in 2033, we follow the journey of 12-year-old Gilbert Black, who is suffering from the hatred of his town - as many believe that he is an arsonist like his mother before him. His Mum disappeared during the dreadful 2020 Mallacoota bushfire when Gilbert was just ababy.
Many believe she set the fire, and now Gilbert is getting the same accusations. So, with torrid weather about, Gilbert’s father decides to send him off to a Melbourne boarding school to keep him out of trouble.
But when a strange man beckons him towards the fire, and Gilbert’s firescar on his shoulder throbs, he knows that he must follow him to face his true destiny.
When he enters the fire, Gilbert is transported back to when another big Australian bushfire occurred. His journey continues through all of Victoria’s significant fires, where he encounters family members and learns of their connection to fire.
Gilbert is determined to uncover the secret surrounding this connection, whilst always hoping to find his mother, and facing his fear of the impending threat of an inferno that could end his life.
Action-packed and filled with Australian history, this time-slip fantasy novel has themes of fulfilling your destiny, the importance of fire management, and family secrets and will bebest suited to middle grade readers.
Reviewed by Rob