Description

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From Printz medalist Marcus Sedgwick, a gripping novel about health—our own and our planet’s—and the stigma of illness.

Ash boards a Greyhound bus heading to the place where Bly was last seen: Snowflake, Arizona. Six thousand feet up in the wide red desert, Ash meets Mona, her dog, her goat, and her neighbors, and finds stepbrother Bly, too.

In their ramshackle homes, the walls lined with tinfoil, almost all the residents of Snowflake are sick. But this isn’t any ordinary sickness: the chemicals and technologies of modern life are poisoning them. They call themselves canaries, living warning signs that humans have pushed the environment too far, except no one seems to be taking their warnings seriously. The healthy “normies” of Snowflake have written them off as a bunch of eccentrics, and when Ash too falls ill, the doctor’s response is “It’s all in your mind.”

Snowflake, AZ contemplates illness and health—both our own and our planet’s. As Ash lives through a cycle of illness and recovery and loss, the world beyond is succumbing to its own affliction: a breakdown of civilization only distantly perceived by Ash and the isolated residents of Snowflake, from which there may or may not be a chance for recovery. This provocative novel by one of our most admired storytellers explores the resilience of love and community in the face of crisis.

About the Author

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Marcus Sedgwick received the Printz Medal for Midwinterblood and Printz Honor awards for Revolver and The Ghosts of Heaven. He lives in southeastern France.

Praise For…

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An ominous, relevant, and uniquely compelling read.
— Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

This raw, deeply philosophical tale leaves readers with a timely, sobering message about how humankind’s treatment of the environment impacts the environment’s treatment of humankind.
— Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Snowflake, AZ is not only a refreshing and entertaining twist on a familiar genre, it is also (and perhaps more importantly) a thought-provoking exploration of the past, present, and future of humans relative to the natural world.

— Shelf Awareness

A provocative story of illness and forthcoming apocalypse.
— Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Will appeal to both realistic fiction and sci-fi readers.
— School Library Journal