Project F

Centuries after the Sudden Fall, during which governments across the globe forbade the use of fossil fuels, humankind has adopted a more eco-friendly way of living based on rejecting electricity in favor of renewable resources. As a result, most children, like 13-year-old Keith Arlo, have never encountered a working car, cellphone, plane, or television. While traveling via train to Sandwater City to retrieve his recently orphaned cousin Lulu, Keith encounters a man named Malcolm who claims to be working on Project F, an engineering scheme in remote Graves Mountain. Upon Keith’s arrival in Sandwater, he realizes that his and Malcolm’s bags were accidentally switched, prompting him and Lulu to detour to Graves Mountain on their return journey. There, they learn the secret of Project F: Malcolm’s team is developing a revolutionary new mode of transportation. Now Keith and Lulu are sworn to secrecy as they become embroiled in a venture that could change the world. Using distant-feeling omniscient prose and employing well-meaning messaging that provides much to think about, DuPrau (City of Ember) crafts a postapocalyptic adventure that reads like a cautionary tale about climate change, technology, and unchecked progress. Characters cue as white. Ages 8–12. Agent: Nancy Gallt, Gallt & Zacker Literary. (Oct.)