Melt by Ele Fountain – Book Review
Melt by Ele Fountain – Book Review
Melt
Author – Ele Fountain
Publisher – Pushkin Children’s Books
Pages – 256
Released – 29th April 2021
Format – ebook, paperback, audio
Rating – 5 Stars
I received a free copy of this book.
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Synopsis
An urgent story of adventure and survival in a warming climate, from the multi-award-winning author of Boy 87 and Lost.
Yutu lives in a remote, Arctic village with his elderly grandmother. Their traditional way of life is threatened by the changing snow and ice, which melts faster every year.
Bea is trying to adapt to yet another new school. Worse still, her father’s new job takes up any spare time, and his behaviour becomes odd and secretive. On a trip she hopes will fix things, their fates take a drastic turn and Bea’s life becomes entwined with Yutu’s in a way she could never have imagined.
Together, they are locked in a desperate race for survival.
Review by Stacey
In Melt we meet Yutu who lives with his grandmother in a tiny village in the Arctic. He is happy living the traditional way and wants to be seen as an adult and do grown-up things. His village is under threat as global warming is heating the oceans which in turn is melting the snow and ice, soon his village may be no more.
Bea lives in the city, a place she hasn’t been in long as her father moves around a lot for his job as a geologist for an oil company. She is having a hard time at her new school and is frustrated that her father is spending more and more time away from home working.
After a series of catastrophic events, Yutu and Bea end up meeting and having to save each other’s life.
What I love about author Ele Fountain’s work is that she can take hard-hitting issues and create a world where those issues are at the forefront without the reader realising it as her stories are filled with excitement, adventure, and friendship.
The book is written at the beginning in alternative chapters from Yutu and Bea until they meet and then they change to joint chapters. The writing is superb, the book is outstanding, and the characters were easy to visualise and realistic, especially as they tackle both separately and together some serious issues.
It was a joy to learn so much about the way of life of people living in the Arctic, the conditions they live in, how they survive and how the community pulls together. This is a book that will educate children about how others around the world live as well as open their eyes to global warming and the lengths some unscrupulous people/companies will go to when they put profits before ethics.
It truly is an amazing read and one that I can see making big waves this year. It is heart-warming and showcases the bravery of two teenagers who have no choice but to fight for survival and learn to trust one another.
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Ele Fountain worked as an editor in children’s publishing where she was responsible for launching and nurturing the careers of many prize-winning and bestselling authors.
She lived in Addis Ababa for several years, where she wrote her debut novel, Boy 87, which went on to win four awards and was nominated for ten more, including the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize. Her second novel, LOST, published in 2020 and was a Guardian Children’s Book of the Year. Her latest novel, MELT, published earlier this year. Her books have sold to nine countries worldwide.
She has written for The Telegraph, SCOOP, BookTrust, and talked about her books and reading on Woman’s Hour, BBC Radio London, BBC Radio Scotland, BBC World Service, and to anyone who happens to be passing.
Ele lives in Hampshire with her husband, two young daughters and lots of spiders.
Agreed! Beautifully told story with such a topical issue at heart! Well written review about a novel that deserves its top stars!
Thank you Asha for your lovely comments. The book is so beautiful and I think every child should be reading it.