The Thinning

Simpson (The Last Woman in the World) brings both a powerful understanding of human emotion and a solid background in natural science to this resonant and exquisitely constructed eco-thriller. Teenager Fin Kelvin’s parents were prominent NASA astrophotographers, until her father died and her mother, Dianella, angered the wrong people by highlighting problems with the government’s response to looming environmental disaster and refusing to subject Fin to a mandatory fertility monitoring program. Now, Fin and Dianella have been labeled Illegals and Absconders and are forced to live off the grid. Fin inadvertently discloses their location to teenager Terry, one of a new breed of humans called Incompletes, sending the women on the run even as Dianella continues to prepare for an upcoming eclipse that may provide her one chance to save the planet from environmental collapse. When Terry shows up again, lost and alone after the capture of his parents by the government, Dianella pairs him with Fin to make their way through the woods and up to the top of Mount Kaputar to play a crucial role during the eclipse. Simpson’s worldbuilding is rich and grim, and she succeeds in telling a dystopian coming-of-age story that still offers glimmers of hope and speaks directly to the current moment without falling fully into allegory. It’s a satisfying ode to human resilience and persistence in the face of increased government control. (May)