The lost soul atlas by Zana Fraillon
Hachette, 2020. ISBN: 9780734419934.
(Age: 10+) Recommended. Twig is in the Afterlife - we know that his
life ended somehow, and he is supposed to follow the path to a
blissful place without cares or memories. But something tugs at him;
he wants to know what happened to his Da and his friends. And there
is a skeleton raven, Krruk, a guardian who is willing to accompany
him back into his memories, into the world that was before, on a
quest to find his father and free the world from the evil of the
Hoblin.
Twig has a map and a bag of bones, each bone a key to a special
place on the lost soul atlas, a crossing that must be unlocked to
free past memories. In his quest he joins up with a group of street
urchins living in a graveyard, and befriends Flea, a courageous
leader of androgynous gender. Together they try to outwit the
treacherous Hoblin, and find a way to safety.
The lost soul atlas is a quest story; there are six crossings to be
opened after answering the riddle posed by each sentry. But with
each crossing Twig is sent back into his past life, and it is harder
and harder to remember the quest. He succumbs to the influence of
the Hoblin and commits a horrible betrayal, like that of Edmund in The
chronicles of Narnia.
In her 'Author note' Zaillon writes about the millions of children
living on the streets, the gangs and the struggle to find food and
shelter, the fear of police and authorities. It is this that comes
through most strongly in her book - she has created a strange
combination of mystical fantasy world and the very real day-to-day
struggles of children living on their wits.
Readers who enjoy the fantasy world of quest adventure stories will
enjoy The lost soul atlas, at the same time gaining insight
into the real lives of street children living with the fear of abuse
and persecution. It is a strange combination of the worlds of
fantasy and reality, alleviated by the humour of the hard talking
raven Krruk and the scurrying of the Meeple stick figures tugging at
Twig's sleeves. It is easy to imagine the book as an animated movie
that would capture readily children's imagination.
Themes: Quest, Fantasy, Adventure, Street children, Homeless
children.
Helen Eddy