With the intensity of The Handmaid’s Tale, the drama of Divergent and the political intrigue of The Darkest Minds series, The Towers series is a captivating, fast-paced thriller set in a dystopian world not so different from our own…
The Snow Laundry was Sydney-based Danish author and playwright Mette Jakobsen’s first foray into YA fiction. With its cracking premise and eerily relatable dystopian setting, the series debut gripped its readers. Fireflies in Flight is Jakobsen’s much-anticipated follow-up, and it does not disappoint.
Ally is on the run. The city is in ruins. Her friends are in mortal danger.
Nothing about being back in the city is easy, but Ally knows that she must find the missing research before ONE does. The Administration has tight control of the capital and there are eyes everywhere.
Fireflies in Flight has the same fast-paced urgency as the first book in the series, launching us straight into a street chase that sees Ally end up in the headquarters of a straggler resistance group of fellow teens.
As tension builds in the city, Ally learns that the go-ahead has already been given to start the deadly experiments on her friends who are still locked up in the Towers.
In a race against time, Ally is forced to risk everything. Will she be able to find the hidden research? Can she get back to the Towers to save her friends before it’s too late? And can she really trust Josh, the handsome resistance group leader?
Ally is a strong and compelling role model for young readers – as fierce and determined as ever in this sequel. This powerful conclusion to The Towers series draws us further into Ally’s world: a dystopian tyranny not so different from our own. Without giving too much away, fans of book #1 should expect the unexpected – Jakobsen delivers some fantastic twists that I certainly didn’t see coming.
Finishing Fireflies in Flight was like saying goodbye to a group of dear friends – some familiar from The Snow Laundry, some new. You’re going to want to savour this book and tear through it at the same time. Unfortunately, you can’t do both, and I’m afraid the compulsively page-turning plot is going to win out (if your teen is reading this, good luck enforcing lights-out!).
While never gratuitous or overly graphic, there is an undercurrent of violence in this series, as well as some dark themes that are authentic to the dystopian world the teens are living in. We’d recommend it for YA readers and children aged 14+.
I can imagine a world where Ally and her friends’ stories continue, but Fireflies in Flight delivers a satisfying conclusion to The Towers series. We’ll just have to wait to see what Jakobsen has in store for us next…
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