The Great Transition by Nick Fuller Googins ~ a Review

by Donna Huber

In the near future, humanity hasn’t avoided the worst of climate change—wildfires, rising oceans, mass migration, and skyrocketing inequality have become the daily reality. But just when it seems that it can’t get any worse, remarkably, a movement of workers, migrants, and refugees inspires the world to band together, save the planet, and rebuild a society for all. This is The Great Transition.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

August 2023; Atria Books; 978-1668010754
audio, ebook, print (352 pages); dystopian

My post-apocalyptic book club is about to set its reading calendar so I've been going through the post-apocalyptic novel in my TBR pile. I was excited about this one because I love seeing how society survives and rebuilds following an apocalypse.

Larch and Kristina lived through the great transition and their daughter Emi who was born after the transition is doing a history project on the event. Often in dystopian fiction, we don't really see what led to the present-day, so I did like seeing about the event through Larch's and Kristina's recollections.

Unfortunately, that was about all I enjoyed. I found the execution of the story disappointing. There was a lot of telling rather than showing. 

The present-day plot with Emi and Larch searching for Kristina after an attack on their town was boring. And I wasn't expecting it to feel like a young adult novel. But with so much of it told from Emi's point-of-view, I guess it was difficult to avoid that tone.

The social commentary was a little heavy-handed as well. I prefer it to be more subtle. Instead, it was clear that Kristina's refugee experience following the climate crisis was a stand-in for recent immigration issues in our own society. Of course, there is a parallel between our own climate problems and those leading up to The Great Transition.

I did find interesting the divisive perspectives of Kristina and Larch. Larch seemed to be ready for the world to heal and move forward, even if that meant some of those who caused the "problems" got away with it. Whereas, Krisina feels that all the "climate criminals" must pay. I'm sure this echoes how many people felt following WWII. There were those who wanted to heal and find a way forward and there were those who wanted justice no matter how long it took.

 The novel didn't work for me, but if you enjoy young adult dystopian novels, then you should check this one out.

Buy The Great Transition at Amazon

Donna Huber is an avid reader and natural encourager. She is the founder of Girl Who Reads and the author of how-to marketing book Secrets to a Successful Blog Tour.

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