Children of Tomorrow: A Novel

by J.R. Burgmann

" Children of Tomorrow  is a vivid and disturbing vision of what could happen in this coming century if we don’t respond well to the current polycrisis. It’ s not a matter of end–of–everything apocalypse, but rather a continuous epic struggle to cope with wild change. Burgmann shows how the novel can be put back to its proper use describing history itself, by way of braided swift stories of people doing the epic work of survival. A novel to remember!"  — Kim Stanley Robinson “Five Stars.  "Children of Tomorrow is an essential read. An emotionally heavy one, but with plenty of pay-off. Both along the way – the beautiful prose, the projected new technologies and creativity of human beings when facing the worst – and in the end, with the offer and acknowledgement that, in some form at least, things will continue."  — Megan Payne, ARTS Hub (Australia) Children of Tomorrow  is a history of family and friendship that spans generations and geographies over a century of escalating climate change. In 2016, Arne Bakker is working on a reforestation project in Tasmania shortly before bushfires sweep across the ancient wilderness. Elsewhere, London–born freedriver Evie Weatherall witnesses extreme climate events in her travels. Arne's close friend and Evie's Canadian cousin Wally, influencer, journalist, and musician, also sees a dangerous future forming. Meanwhile, Arne's brother Freddie, "a shredded poster boy for global environmental activism," is mobilizing his followers. When their paths collide, the group is set on course to witness and struggle together against the coming century. Decades later, a new generation is living with the havoc wreaked by their parents and grandparents and they too must find ways to find hope for the future in an increasingly difficult present. "Luminous, thoughtful, unflinching – there’s a breathless relentlessness to the increasing carbon dioxide numbers that kept me flipping pages as if it were a thriller. But even as it portrays the disasters and collapses, it also portrays what's best about our capacity to hope, love, change, and forgive. A stunning and necessary addition to the existing oeuvre of climate change fiction."  — Premee Mohamed,  The Annual Migration of Clouds

Genres: Fiction

256 pages, Paperback

Published September 12, 2023

Reviews

[Sean Birkett · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel surprised me. It starts out describing the familiar discourse of future climate change catastrophe and quickly descends into it's reality. Beautifully descriptive. If you have climate change on the mind, do yourself a favor and read this book.

[Ariel Desrochers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Completely engrossing and complex, this novel paints a picture of what is yet to come. I did find myself questioning the actions of characters in a world where they are hyper aware of the continuous change around them. I also wanted to get to know them more. A very entertaining book!

[D.M. Cameron]

There's some beautiful writing here. Haunting and frightening. An important read. (please note I don't partake in the star rating system).

[Ian Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Children of Tomorrow is a story about the importance of family and friendship in a world that is collapsing. J.R. Burgmann tells the story of Evie and Arne, two scientists who are witnessing the destruction of the natural world. Despite the loss around them, Evie and Arne fall in love and start a family. Unfortunately, the family’s bliss is interrupted by an unimaginable catastrophe which has a profoundly negative impact on the family.

As time passes, the planet continues to warm, species become extinct and ecosystems collapse. As Arne and Evie’s kids grow up, their daughter Jasmine shows a keen interest in all that has been lost. Jasmine grows up to be influential with her peers (the Greta generation) and leads her followers on the next big climate strike. Jasmine’s brother Raph, on the other hand, descends into a world of climate change denial and conspiracies. Raph spends much of his time in the echo chambers of the deep web, putting a strain on Raph’s relationship with his family. Ultimately, both children drift in the world disconnected from their parents and loved ones.

As the decades pass, the reader witnesses that the power of family and friendship prevails and despite all of the hardship, love and community help us hold on to hope.

J.R. Burgmann truly spoke to me through his writing. Being a parent of children from the Greta generation, this book really hits home. While we endure a summer of unprecedented wildfires in Canada, I can only imagine how my children will feel growing up in a world that will lose so much. This book has reinforced the importance of getting my children outside to enjoy nature while it’s still here. It is a reminder that when they are older, my children will look back at my actions now. I want them to know that I did everything in my power to help protect their future.

Despite the state of the world, this story gives me hope that my children can grow up to be healthy, happy and cared for despite the losses they are likely to experience. It has also reminded me to live in the moment and appreciate the time that I have to spend with my family and friends.

[Maree · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an environmental warning sheathed in such beautiful prose. This follows a group of researches in the bush of Tasmania watching bushfires destroy protected old forests. We then track each of this group as they go forth fighting climate change around the world. This is somewhat grandiose. These environmentalists are heroes each and every one of them. They are rockstars, Government advisors and social media influencers. They have enough money to travel anywhere in the world and make startling discovers wherever they go. A bit fantastical but I found myself hanging on hoping for some good news. The ending is to be expected but don't ask me how anyone finds something to eat when plants and animals are destroyed. A terrifying warning.

[Jillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was really enthralled by the first half of this book, but then skimmed the rest as the story widened too much and lost its close perspective. The characters we had followed in the first half fell totally away and I had no idea why they made the few choices they did that we as readers learned about. The first half, though, was very moving in the way the characters always had the earth's deterioration on their mind and saw the world's suffering so deeply. It was very affecting. I wish the second half of the book could have been that good.

[Katie Snell · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book provides a terrifying and realistic view of the earths future if nothing is done about climate change. There characters were a little hard to connect to and some of the plot lines were dropped and not picked up again.

[sam ☆ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Clare · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting but not enjoyable - I found this a bit hard to follow.