Outwalkers

by Fiona Shaw

Overview

In this tense, page-turning story of survival in near-future England, Jacob must go to all lengths to find his dog and escape to freedom with a gang of rebel children.

In a frighteningly real near future England, Jacob escapes from the Academy orphanage to reenter a world that is grimly recognizable. The Coalition can track anyone, anywhere, from a chip implanted at birth. Now Jacob must fulfill his promise to his parents, find his dog, Jet, and navigate his way out of England. Their only hope is a band of children who have found a way to survive off the grid: The Outwalkers. Their rules are strict, but necessary if they're going to get out alive...

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781338277500
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	02/26/2019
Pages:	416
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.50(d)
Lexile:	HL660L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Fiona Shaw is the author of four adult novels, including Tell it to the Bees and A Stones Throw. She was born in London and now lives in York. She reads a great deal, cycles everywhere, grows vegetables with variable success, and acquires more films than she ever gets around to watching. Outwalkers is her first novel for children.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Outwalkers"Gritty action-adventure with layered characters, plenty of danger, and themes focused on immigration and government control." — Booklist"Impossible to set aside for long. The plot is detailed and exciting, and allegorical comparisons with the present day are compelling...utterly inspiring." — School Library Journal

From the Publisher

2018-10-15

In a near future, England has closed its borders, microchipped its citizens, and forced children without two parents into orphanages that are an awful lot like prisons.

When 12-year-old Jake's parents die in a car accident, he is sent to live in a Home Academy to be educated and cared for. Jake escapes to find his dog, Jet, and keep the promise he made to his parents: to flee to his grandparents' home in Scotland. They also made him promise to keep Jet with him always. But Jake's chip is like a beacon to the hubbers, and he has no idea how to make the long walk to the border. He meets a group of teens and children who call themselves Outwalkers who agree to take Jake with them as long as he follows the rules. Poacher, with his braided hair and black skin, and Swift, with her pale skin and hard eyes, are the leaders of the motley group. Rumors of a deadly virus and the constant threat of capture haunt their journey. Slow pacing, a vague enemy, and unoriginal plot hamper the intriguing premise. Sacrifice, loyalty, and bravery are rewarded, but Jake's naiveté quickly becomes irritating. The book adheres to the white default, Poacher a notable exception; that he speaks in an off-putting dialect when most of the rest of the characters do not is an unfortunate detail.

A dystopic near future that never manages to come to life. (Science fiction. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews