Storm Child — Ele Fountain

A thought-provoking, contemporary middle-grade novel about globalization, climate change and finding your place in a changing world.

Maya lives a happy life on the coast, spending her time hanging out with her friends and surfing, while her mother bakes for the local café and her father works as a fisherman. But when her dad's fishing boat sinks in a ferocious storm, Maya's entire world is upended.

With her family losing their only means of earning money, her parents decide to move to an island in the Pacific -- a place they are sure is paradise. Though life in their new home starts to take on order, however, Maya can't help but point out the obvious: the grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence, and making a change doesn't always make a difference. As Maya begins to realise that paradise is not always what it seems, can she bring her family back home again?

From the prize-winning author of Refugee 87, Fake, and Wild, this breathtaking middle-grade adventure tackles important subjects like the impact of globalization and development on rural communities, which many young readers face in their own lives today. Ele Fountain's latest novel provides an insightful look at one girl's fight for what's right in the face of a constantly changing world.