by Anna North
First published 2012
Seventeen-year-old Darcy Pern lives on America Pacifica, an isolated island that sits hundreds of miles from the frozen ruins of California. The world has plunged into a new ice age, and this artificial refuge represents the last warm sanctuary for those who escaped the global catastrophe. When Darcy's mother vanishes without explanation, the teenager begins a desperate search that pulls her deeper into the island's secrets. Her investigation reveals disturbing truths about how America Pacifica came to exist and exposes the dark methods of Tyson, the mysterious figure who controls their supposedly safe haven. As Darcy digs deeper, she discovers that finding her mother means confronting the sinister foundations of the only home she has ever known. Her quest becomes a fight to uncover what really happened to the people who built this refuge and what price they paid for survival in their frozen world.
Genres: adventure, 21st-century, alternate-history, apocalyptic
Vibes: atmospheric, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: dystopian-society, found-family
Setting: America Pacifica, California
Period: 21st-century
292 pages · Paperback · Virago Press (UK)
Content warnings: death, violence