City of Rust: an out-of-this-world sci-fi adventure!

Product Information

I believe this book is aimed at 11ish year olds, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and I was 11 a very long time ago! Rescued by a couple of Junker kids, they discover a danger bigger than anything they'd imagined - but can three kids, a gecko and an ancient computer save the world against the huge trash bomb (and its power-crazed creator) threatening to destroy the world?

The colourful and exotic cast of other characters and the vividly imagined world building will give this real appeal to gaming fans. This well written and imaginative book will keep the reader gripped as they discover if a girl and her gecko, with the two Junker children they meet, save the world from its own trash.

There are drone races, bounty hunters, androids, and an old spaceship that constantly requires work. J’ai commencé ce roman de science-fiction jeunesse pleine d’espoir car ça faisait très longtemps que je voulais le lire et que je n’avais pas lu de SF ! Fast-paced, filled with twists and turns, and set in a dystopian vision of Earth which serves as a stark warning of the dangers of pollution and climate change, City of Rust is a brilliant contemporary sci-fi adventure. They bickered so much, which was hilarious, but at the same time they obviously cared about each other so much and their bond was so heart-warming.

I got a bit confused at the beginning with Runners, Junkers etc, but eventually things were clarified. I am not a reader; could probably count on my fingers the amount of books i have finished outwith school. There are heart-in-throat moments, and, thanks to Gemma’s incredibly visual writing (I felt like I was watching a film throughout), it feels urgent and real. Loved the steampunk, junkpile feel of this book, the ingenuity of the characters building with this junk and the message of the importance of waste reduction and taking responsibility for our waste before it engulfs us.It is a cli-fi (climate science fiction) adventure set in a future world overrun with rubbish - think WALL-E meets Star Wars, meets Blade Runner, with a talking gecko. I was drawn to City of Rust right away because of the characterful futuristic steam-punk junk yard vibe, and because it’s a sci-fi. Gemma Fowler’s world-building is exceptional, and her version of Earth has echoes of Blade Runner, Wall-E and Star Wars. Malheureusement, j’ai abandonné ma lecture à la moitié, parce que je n’arrivais pas à m’attacher à la protagoniste et parce que ça manquait cruellement de background ! This is an interesting sci-fi dystopia adventure with surprising settings and views of this (very possible) future.

And as I didn't care enough for the characters, even though the stakes were high, I wasn't scare for them. It has also been selected as an official title for the Summer Reading Challenge 2022 in partnership with the Reading Agency and the Science Museum. Some awesome world-building here, but I had a hard time suspending my disbelief when it came to Atti, who just a read a little too human, but I'm sure younger YA readers will thoroughly enjoy this adventurous, friendship-focused book. I do think perhaps the antagonist could have been developed a little deeper as it was rather surface level, but I think children would like this. Some parts were confusing and I felt like a few of the characters could have been fleshed out more (Care) but it's an enjoyable enough story and something I could imagine reading with my daughter in the future.Also, it’s made junk a form of money in a way-so you need it to live, but fear for your life from it at the same time.