Climate Change

Throughout the novel, the author uses his three main characters’ encounters with fires, floods, and wildlife in order to inspire his explorations regarding climate change. In Akira’s sections, titled as "The Sierra Nevada, California,” Akira’s world is threatened by the Morris Fire, a wildfire she immediately understands is worse than typical wildfires. In Owen’s sections, titled as “Churchill, Manitoba,” Owen realizes that climate change is affecting his home when he encounters a litany of polar bears too “far inland” at “the end of the polar bear season” (109). In Natalie’s sections, titled as “Miami, Florida,” Natalie faces the truth of climate change in the form of Hurricane Reuben. These disruptions to the characters’ environments act as the narrative soil for the author’s messages and ideas regarding how to stop the climate crisis.

In each of the character’s sections, the author...