Synopsis
In this riveting sequel to the hit eco-thriller The Carbon Diaries 2015, Laura Brown, now a college student in London, chronicles the struggle England faces as the government tightens its grip on carbon rations.
Laura is juggling two love interests, and her eco-punk band, the dirty angels, keeps landing gigs, so life is good . . . until a crackdown on rioting students forces her to flee the city. Then, on the band's European tour, Laura finds herself at the center of a series of dangerous events. The angels have always sung about fighting corruption. Is it time for Laura to join the underground resistance movement and actually practice what the dirty angels preaches?
As perceptive and compulsively readable as its prequel, this book raises provacative moral questions for today's young adults.
Children's Literature
Laura Brown returns in this edgy, futuristic tale set in a world where carbon dioxide is rationed to counteract climate change and the citizens are revolting against governments that control utilities. In her first year at "uni" (university), Laura's studies go awry when she joins in the United Kingdom's social unrest and then decides to tour Europe with her punk band, Dirty Angels. A recent breakup with her boyfriend, Adi, leaves Laura open to pursue a romance with Sam, the newest band member. Midway through the tour, rampant revolution disrupts their plans. They're detained in France, where Laura suffers physically and mentally, especially when she and her friends must leave Adi behind, beaten and incarcerated. This trauma ignites Laura's political activism, and she finds she's no longer content to be a spectator in this revolution—although her commitment to be involved proves unspecific in nature. Written in British slang as Laura's diary entries, the story can be a little hard to follow at times, but it's unclear if this is because it's set in the British punk underground or because it's set in a fictional futuristic world. Laura is neither compelling nor charismatic—her commitment to her education is tenuous; her punk band shouts ugly, subversive lyrics; and even at just eighteen years old, she's no stranger to drinking binges to get her through emotionally tough times. Always, she rides high with the passion and drama of youth. Although Laura seems to love Adi deeply despite their breakup, there's little tenderness or romance between them. The plot peaks at moments of anarchy and musical frenzy, disconnecting mainstream readers from Laura's radical world. Reviewer: Michele C. Hughes