Reviewed by Debra Williams
It is sometime in the future,
in a post-apocalyptic world. A sickness has swept the country and left many
dead, largely affecting men and boys. They blame
the women for carrying the sickness and go into the mountains to live, to hunt
and to keep themselves safe. The village in this tale is home to mostly women
and girls. They are afraid for their menfolk and boys: as a result, the
children are highly treasured in the community.
One of those women, Lodyma
Darsey, has sent her youngest son Osmin into the mountains to live with the men
after the death of her husband and older son. It has been 10 years since Osmin
went, and Lodyma has no idea whether he is still alive. Lodyma is a “Witnesser
of Miracles,” a woman who investigates so-called miraculous events. A former
stage performer, she weaves various unusual occurrences into a story-telling
performance each day in the local night markets.
In this world lives young
Bastienne Scull, who has lost both parents and has no other family. She was rescued by Lodyma and taken to live with her, as
her apprentice witnesser. Basti aids Lodyma with her nightly performance and
has some “Old tech,” that no longer exists, in the form of a polaroid camera.
Her brief is to photograph evidence of the “miracles,” which she does, but
Basti also secretly takes snapshots of what she terms “little moments”: times
of kindness, care and love shown by people in the village.
Lodyma and Basti are visited by two young boys, orphans from a local
monastery, who ask them to go to the monastery and investigate a miracle. When
they arrive at the monastery, the “miracle” is a small girl who will change and
upend their lives forever.
This is a story of family
connections and re-connections, finding what was lost,
persistence, developing resilience and new hope.
Told in first-person by Basti
(who has a particular way of speaking), this story will be
enjoyed by young readers aged 8-12 years.
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