When teenager Xavier Oak wakes and looks out the window of his family’s cottage, everything is not fine.
Not only has the view changed dramatically but the stillness in the air disturbs him in more ways than one as he soon realises their off-grid retreat has moved to another place, perhaps another world. And yet the house holds all their belongings and the people within it as if it were any ordinary day with his dad and heavily pregnant step-mum.
Not one singing bird or an aeroplane in the clear sky above, it quickly becomes clear they are alone. Zay and his dad comb every inch of their new world to sadly realise they’re now inhabitants of a land covered with an impenetrable dome-shaped membrane.
They suspect there are guardians who seem to watch their every move as items necessary to survive off the land are left for them to use, gifts from their captors to encourage them to take control of their destiny in their new surroundings. Zay and his family have no option but to embrace their new life and all its trappings. What about school, friends, his mum and brother? Zay is reeling with the thought of being away from those he loves under the scrutiny from whatever, or whomever, it is that’s stopping them escape.
Three years have passed when a new house, and its family, appear alongside them. Not only are they a welcome sight but Zay’s outlook on life will be changed forever when he meets his teenage neighbour, Mackenzie.
Wild conspiracy theories fire between them, increasing their determination to flee.
Alongside their captors providing the occasional unwelcome surprise, tempers fray that threaten to tear both families apart and break Zay and Mackenzie’s growing friendship too. As the need to escape consumes them all, will anyone survive?
Kenneth Oppel has created a masterpiece in dystopian fiction with Best of All Worlds, illustrated by James Fraser.
This novel conjures up genuine fear and trepidation.
Before the reader realises it, there’s an acceptance of the chaos and confusion that being confined in an unknown space brings. A truly thought-provoking story of misconstrued trust, family bonds amid the million dollar question – is there anyone out there?
