#09: Can fiction fuel climate-action?
Book #09:?The Helix ?- Yasmeen Cohen
Type Fiction
Genre Young Adult
Format Kindle
Pages 308
Completed 18 Mar 2023
My rating ****
Since World Book Day, I’ve been reading The Helix, the first book in a Young Adult Fiction trilogy, written by my close friend and ex-colleague?Yasmeen Cohen .
I was an alpha-reader for the first draft, so had read most of the story already. But I didn’t quite finish it back then, so once I got my hands on the final print version the ending had still not been spoilt for me!
I was conscious during every page that a friend had created this novel and it gave me a new appreciation for the gravity of the task that is writing a book, especially a fiction, where everything has to be carefully curated and balanced. The story does not drop out of pre-existing facts as it does for a non-fiction book.
I’ve rated The Helix 4-stars, only falling short of 5-stars due to the fact it is not aimed at someone my age! I think the story is original, gripping and probably very resonant for younger generations who can relate more to the characters and events, especially the perspective on sustainability and the climate.
You see, the unique thing about The Helix is that it is not only a Young Adult fiction, but it is also?climate fiction?or?eco fiction. I have never read any books in this sub-genre but I really enjoyed seeing interesting sustainability ideas (some of which are likely to be a reality one day) thrown into the settings and aesthetic of the story, to remind you about what ‘better’ could look like and inspire you to think up your own ideas too. The author, Yasmeen, works in the sustainability area professionally so you know you’re reading solid stuff!
In addition, the storyline follows the main character, Ella, through a ‘crisis’ both one of her own and one of a new world she is discovering - a nice analogy to the current climate crisis we find ourselves in. The climate-elements are light-touch in The Helix, but I’ve been promised by the author that this will start to take centre stage in books two and three, after her readership has been established with book one…
I won’t spoil any of the story, but if you’re interested in reading your first bit of climate fiction, or if you have young people in your life who enjoy books with an element of fantasy, sci-fi, romance, combat with a solid story (and twists!) to boot, definitely check this one out. If you’d like to discover more eco-fiction books, I found a GoodReads group with lots of suggestions?here .
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Takeaway #09: More climate conversations are always needed
Having never read climate fiction before, I found it very refreshing to see the innovations Yasmeen is passionate about made real within her storyline. It’s a new way of sharing ideas and subliminally reminding us of the ever-present issue. I think this can be especially powerful when paired with genres like Young Adult fiction that are constructed for younger readers who will get value from being exposed to new ideas and can hopefully lead to a larger body of climate-focused minds in the near future.
I challenged myself to highlight every sustainability-themed phrase or paragraph and managed to spot over fifteen unique examples of these discussions and imagined visions in The Helix.
Here are a couple of my favourite ideas, to tempt you to dive in to this book and the genre at large:
Gyms that power themselves by converting the energy expended by customers into lighting and heating
Lesson #09: Goodreads tracks progress
Whilst reviewing The Helix, I ended up on the?Goodreads? website, following Yasmeen and updating my review of the book after a fresh read. Whilst there I discovered that Goodreads also allows you to add a reading goal and tracks your progress and reviews all in one place.
To date, I have been recording this manually (and will probably continue to do so, as the Goodreads features are so-so). But I now have a user account on there to take advantage of the public tracking and potentially discover some new books through my network.
If you already use Goodreads (or are interested in starting), then please let me know if I am missing out on any other features I haven’t discovered. Also, if you want a quick way to see all the books I have read so far this year, you can find this at?goodreads.com/prospection .
Catch up on last week’s book?here !