Sila's Revenge — Jamie Bastedo

Pennsylvania School Library Association Top 40 Fiction, 2009

Eighteen-year-old Ashley Anowiak is an eco-warrior who is prepared to go to any lengths to bring to the world's attention the plight of Planet Earth. She's already burned down the office of the local oil company. Now she's ready to move out of her own Arctic community and into the international spotlight.

Ashley is part of group called the Dream Drummers, who have been invited to perform at New York's Carnegie Hall. Here the adventure only begins, as she and her group of friends are pirated off to Australia by an embittered former environmentalist bent on executing a mysterious cataclysmic gesture which will endanger everyone.

It's at this moment that Ashley and the Dream Drummers are called to perform on the massive Scorched Earth Stage, in front of an audience of half a million, and a television audience of half the world's population.

Jamie Bastedo's story takes place against a big canvas-moving swiftly from Arctic Canada to urban New York to the Australian desert, with astute observations and insights into each environment. His protagonist is a spunky teenager, his villain a classic dark force-and his story a cautionary tale for the 21st century that is bound to inspire young readers into learning more about the biggest crisis to face the world in its history.