The Doomsday Book of Fairy Tales

Brewes’s solid, genre-bending debut opens on a near-future Earth that’s been destroyed by the ravages of climate change. Food scarcity, extreme weather, and dwindling options drove the Vanderchuck family into the Underground when Jesse Vanderchuck was 15. Thirty-five years later, Jesse makes his way to the surface again. With Doggo the talking dog by his side, he sets off in search of his long-lost sister, Olivia, who ran away when she was 12. Olivia was never able to forgive their mother for leaving their father behind on the surface, and with that knowledge, Jesse follows the suspicion that Olivia has headed back to their childhood home. Along the way, while battling his age and hunger, Jesse tells a series of charming fairy tales to his dog companion, and the tales intertwine with Jesse’s journey until what’s real and what’s part of his imagination become blurred. Though the ending is shockingly abrupt, Jesse’s introspective narration successfully draws the reader in. Dark and a little absurd, this will appeal to fans of intimate postapocalyptic tales. [em](June) [/em]