The Raven’s Song by Zana Fraillon & Bren MacDibble

Shelby and Davy know that they must never venture beyond the perimeter fence. It’s against the rules. Living in an ethical low-tech closed community can be incredibly boring at times so when a hole appears in the fence and sheep have gone missing, there’s only one thing they’d rather be doing than chores and school.
The boggy marshland is a no-go area. Their families forbid trips into its mysterious and murky lands and yet their curiosity gets the better of the two best friends. They sneak through the cut wires and begin to explore. Relics of a previous life come forth and they encounter a man from the past who scares and intrigues them in equal measure. They had been told that no-one survived the plague, that the surrounding land is made up of trees and wildlife, a space to be left to nature.
That is not what Shelby and Davy find.
A hundred years earlier, Pheonix’s nightmares become a waking reality as he embraces ‘the gift’ his grandmother and hers before her, passed down to him. A sight that sees beyond the norm, awakening a warning of impending doom that he can’t ignore. The ravens are circling and he has no idea why. He tries to live each day as he can, writing letters to his friend, looking after his family but most of all missing his mum. Her death has left a huge whole in his heart and he can see no way of patching it back together. Dangerous premonitions and dark messages from beyond, keep him awake at night. His grandmother embraces his sight skills and yet he struggles to understand the cryptic communications given to him when he closes his eyes each night. They urge him back to the bog, drawing him near. When his younger brother Walter becomes ill and Pheonix succumbs to the same plague, a different path is made for him – a nightmare he may never wake up from.
When Shelby, David, Pheonix and Walter’s world collide, the ravens screech above in a final crescendo and the land reclaims what it has wanted all along.
A truly mesmerising time-slip novel that encompasses not only the way our planet changes under the humans that live on it but also the way, regardless of time and era, that friendships can last against all odds. Heartache amid laughter and melancholic tears for what once was, run through this incredible climate-change future-world story written by Australian writers Bren MacDibble and Zana Fraillon. A reminder perhaps of what may happen should we continue to treat our planet as a mere stone to stand on rather than the amazing natural life-source it is for animals and humans alike. Giving the reader a moment to reflect on their own friendships and family dynamics, The Raven’s Song is a refreshing look into how we spend our time with those we love. An outstanding cover and internal illustrations depicting their plight throughout by Joanna Hunt and Sheila Smallwood will encourage room to be made for it on every bookshelf.
I read it twice. Even more overwhelming the second time. There will definitely be a third reading, once my heart has stopped hammering and I don’t fear the call of ravens as much.
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