Teen Green Reads

Climate change is happening, no hoax , no fake news.  Australia is one of the countries that is most affected by it but is also one of the highest polluters of greenhouse gases. Why is this? Although a personal change in lifestyle can always help, small incremental changes like will not cancel out the overwhelming cause of climate change.  So what can we do?  This month, Strathfield Library will be working with the high schools in the Strathfield council area to raise awareness in students and will be partaking in environmentally-friendly schemes and fundraisers to help the environment. Activism and awareness  is extremely important, we need to empower the people that will be most affected by climate change to lead the charge. We hope that you enjoy our curated list for teen reads with green themes.

They Came From Below Format: paperback book Citation: Nelson, Blake. They came from below , New York: Tor Books, 2007. Grade level: 7 – 12 Annotation: When 16-year-old Emily and her best friend Reese are on summer vacation in Cape Cod, they have a chance meeting with Steve and Dave, two boys who check all the right boxes. Cute, mysterious and cool, Steve and Dave seem too good to be true. However, a strange creature has been spotted in the lake during their quaint vacation, could Steve and Dave be behind this weird happenstance? They Came from Below is a fast-paced, witty and quirky sci-fi book about how a creature from the deep can help fight to save our planet from a pollution and climate catastrophe. Find out more on Goodreads.

The Devil's Breath Format: paperback book Citation: Gilman, David. The devil’s breath , New York: Random House Children’s Books 2008. Grade level: 7 – 9 Annotation: The Devil’s Breath is the award-winning first book of the Danger Zone series. Lightning-paced and action-packed, The Devil’s Breath tells the story of Max Gordon, a fifteen-year-old whose life is changed forever when his environmentalist father has seemingly disappeared while working on an ecology project in Namibia, Africa. After a narrow escape from an assassin sent to eliminate his family, Max is hell-bent on finding his father, and unravels a major ecological disaster on the way. This novel is a no-holds-barred action adventure that has strong green-themes and explores the people who seek to destroy our environment for their own personal gain.  Find out more on Goodreads.

Empty Format: paperback book Citation: Weyn, Suzanne. Empty , New York: Scholastic Press, 2010. Grade level: 7 - 10 Annotation: In the not-so-far future, mankind has begun running out of resources while the climate crisis has continued to wreak havoc on our environment. When the US begins to start a war with Venezuela over the dwindling oil supply, food supplies run low and everyone seems to be looking out for their own survival; ‘Empty’ tells the stories of three teens trying to make their way through this adversity. This realistic setting for dystopian fiction sets the scene for our own world in a few years and many of the issues presented in ‘Empty’ can be seen on the news today. Find out more on Goodreads.

Ship Breaker Format: paperback book Citation: Bacigalupi, Paolo. Ship breaker , New York: Little, Brown and Co., 2010. Grade level: 7 - 12 Annotation: In ‘Ship Breaker’, Bacigalupi writes a brilliantly fleshed out, post-climate change apocalypse world in an action sci-fi novel that is gritty, complex and compelling. In this world society has crumbled and fossil fuels have been used up. 17 year old Nailer scavenges from grounded oil tankers to meet his drug-addicted and violent father’s quotas, but when he finds a young girl trapped on one of these tankers Nailer must make a choice between turning this girl in for money or taking a chance and saving her. Fast-paced and suspenseful, this novel is a must read for any dystopian fiction lovers out there. Find out more on Goodreads.

Watership Down Format: paperback book Citation: Adams, Richard. Watership down , New York: Macmillan, 1974. Grade level: 9 – 12 Annotation: An enduring classic and the first in a groundbreaking duology, ‘Watership Down’ tells the story of a band of rabbits fleeing from the destruction of their warren, and the men that destroyed it. When Fiver, a young rabbit foresees great danger approaching his home, he, his brother and nine other rabbits escape Watership Down in search of somewhere new, along the way the gang meets many a danger. Ultimately, ‘Watership Down’ is a novel about surviving in a changing world and the destruction of our environment. I shall leave you with one quote that bears remarking, “Men will never rest till they’ve spoiled the earth and destroyed the animals.” Find out more on Goodreads.

The Beast of Cretacea Format: paperback book Citation: Strasser, Todd. The beast of Cretacea , New York: Candlewick Press, 2015. Grade level: 6 – 12 Annotation: A modern re-telling of Moby Dick with a sci-fi slant, ‘The beast of Cretacea’ is both a cautionary environmental novel as well as a coming-of-age story. A young Ishmael leaves an Earth on the verge of ruin and finds himself harvesting resources for Mad Captain Ahab, a man who has a crazed obsession to kill a great sea creature, the Great Terrafin. As Ishmael’s journey continues, he finds out the real reason for the destruction of Earth’s ecology. Filled with futuristic technology, a courageous protagonist and a masterfully crafted world, ‘the beast of Cretacea’ is a contemporary novel with echoes of an old-maritime adventure. Find out more on Goodreads.

When We Wake Format: paperback book Citation: Healey, Karen. When we wake , New York: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2013. Grade level: 8 – 12 Annotation: After being killed in the year 2027, sixteen-year-old Tegan awakens 100 years in the future from a cryogenic freeze, the first ever to do so. The world she wakes up in however is a far cry from the utopia that she expected as they deal with an overpopulation crisis threatening to collapse the environment. As Tegan experiences this world, she discovers why the real reason she was awoken by the government, and finding out why a whole sect is tracking her down. ‘When we wake’ is equal parts dystopian and science fiction about questionable science and a collapsing earth. Find out more on Goodreads.

The Confusion of Laurel Graham Format: paperback book Citation: Kisner, Adrienne. The confusion of Laurel Graham , New York: Feiwel & Friends, 2019. Grade level: 9 – 12 Annotation: ‘The Confusion of Laurel Graham’ is a contemplative, well-developed and realistic novel about… Laurel Graham of course, and her plight to save a nature reserve in Shunksville, Pennsylvania. Laurel is an avid bird photographer, while birding with grandmother her gran is hit by a car. Laurel, feeling guilty over her gran’s injury spends her time looking after her. Along the way, Laurel deals with her overwhelming mother, searches for a rare bird, discovers a plot created by some meddling politicians to destroy the nature reserve and develops a romance with her co-worker Risa. Anyone interested in nature conservation, political activism or LGBTQ+ friendly themes would love this book. Find out more on Goodreads.

Princess Mononoke Format: movie Citation: Princess Mononoke , Collingwood, Victoria:  Madman Entertainment, 2004. (1 DVD) Grade level: PG-13 Annotation: A cult classic for any Studio Ghibli fans out there, ‘Princess Mononoke’ is a beautifully animated film about Ashitaka, the last prince of a village in Japan whose village is attacked by a demon. Before the demon can do any major harm, Ashitaka slays the beast but in turn becomes cursed. The prince sets out on a journey to cure this infliction, along the way finds out what is causing these demon attacks and meets San, a girl raised by the wolves. Although noted for its beautiful art style and moving plot, ‘Princess Mononoke’ is really about the environment and the impact of humanity’s greed. Find out more on IMDb. Trailer.

Snowpiercer Format: movie Citation: Snowpiercer , Beverly Hills, CA : Anchor Bay Entertainment, 2014. (1 DVD) Grade level: MA15+ Annotation: In the future, the world has gone through a second Ice Age that was accidentally induced after the U.N. released a substance to hold off global warming. The rest of humanity has been living aboard a train, perpetually circling the same track. Each carriage is assigned to a certain class, when a group of lower-class citizens spark a rebellion led by Curtis, they make their way from the back of the train to confront the mastermind of the entire enterprise. ‘Snowpiercer’ is a tense, bleak and surprisingly funny look at the way our system works when taken to the extreme. Find out more on IMDb. Trailer.