Where the River Runs Gold

About this book

Shifa and her brother Themba live with their dad in Kairos City, on a future Earth decimated by climate change. Families sign their rights away to the Freedom Fields organisation that claims to look after them as long as they opt in.

The bees have disappeared and children are used to pollinate crops instead so people can eat, but when Shifa and her brother are sent away to work, they uncover a system that is cruel as well as full of corruption and secrets. How can they escape and make the world a better place?

This is Waterstones Children's Book Prize winner Sita Brahmachari's first dystopian novel and she brings to it all the warmth and personality of her books set in contemporary times.

As well as trying to free her world, Shifa is also dealing with more universal issues of finding her identity as she grows from a child to a teenager. There is peril here, but it's not a depressing read. Instead, this book is full of hope and inspiration to young people that they can make a difference.

It's an exciting tale that will help children think about climate change in our world - and the positive acts they can take and encourage in the adults they know.

About the author