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Pluto Cove
Enna Martinez is a 12-year-old girl living a comfortable life when a phenomenon deemed ‘The Polar Storms’ swallows the globe whole. From pole to pole, unprecedented drought squeezes dust from the earth. Gradually -- then all at once -- social order breaks down. As hate-crimes creep ever nearer to their Anchorage home, Enna's family flees into the Alaskan wilderness. The family scraps together a tenuous pioneer lifestyle -- but then one day, Enna’s little sister disappears. As her parents plummet into grief, a now-adolescent Enna must rise to the role of hunter, gatherer, and caretaker for the family. She learns to harness the storms and predators that once terrified her, and in doing so, discovers a strange magic underpinning her survival.
- GenresBook Club
225 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 9, 2021
16 people are currently reading
84 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
July 1, 2021
Alaskan Masterpiece
I love books that not only take place in Alaska, but accurately reference places, landmarks and lifestyle unique to our state. This book was filled with thought provoking topics, adventure, what it's and a fabulous outcome. I really enjoyed it and cannot wait for more from this author!!
I love books that not only take place in Alaska, but accurately reference places, landmarks and lifestyle unique to our state. This book was filled with thought provoking topics, adventure, what it's and a fabulous outcome. I really enjoyed it and cannot wait for more from this author!!
September 18, 2021
Refreshing; impressive self-published book with better fidelity to accurate land descriptions than some books about AK from major author/publishers. Important contemporary themes addressed outright. Writing is nimble, easy to read and follow along the storyline. Four stars instead of five because there’s some predictableness to the ending, author foreshadowed a little too well; also, while she tackled racism as a huge theme (yay!), I felt the internal issues of bridging cultures that the heroine faced did not get explored beyond skin color; her father’s cultural heritage was largely absent from the story. I hope in future books she is able to explore this further, as specific and diverse issues in bridging cultures are themes so many young people face and are not always aware of.
July 9, 2021
A page turner for our new age, the Pyrocene.
Great character development, engaging storyline, appeals to adult as well as young adult readers with themes of racism, family dynamics, and severe climate change. Impressive first novel!
Great character development, engaging storyline, appeals to adult as well as young adult readers with themes of racism, family dynamics, and severe climate change. Impressive first novel!
December 20, 2023
A little slow to start, but quickly draws you in. Wonderful descriptions of Alaska, author was raised/lives here. Very vivid imagery and reminded me of time traveling on the Kenai Peninsula and across the bay. Worth reading for anyone that likes dystopian, Alaskan, or family dynamic stories.
February 25, 2024
Contemporary problems related to the environment and the challenges changes made on humanity. A new writer with something to say. I enjoyed recognizing places in AK that I have visited. Very interesting adventures.
August 7, 2021
One of the best books I’ve read in a long time! Thrilling! I could not put it down.
September 4, 2021
How is this her first novel!!! I loved ittttt!!! Gave me chills, and happy dance moments. Congrats Arran, and keep writing! You have a fan girl here. ;)
October 30, 2021
A friend read this book, tagged me on FB and told me to read it.
If you were raised in or have lived in Alaska, it’s a must read.
If you haven’t, I still think it’s a must read.
If you were raised in or have lived in Alaska, it’s a must read.
If you haven’t, I still think it’s a must read.
May 10, 2023
Love love loved this book! Great characters and unfortunately a believable dystopian story. Very creative.
July 21, 2024
The genre is not my cuppa but the writing is so good.
October 8, 2025
It has a good premise as a natural disaster survival story AND it has a main character whose parents are ALIVE. Unfortunately, it's poorly written.
October 27, 2025
Started out strong until the not believable plot twist
May 29, 2025
I gave it 4 stars because the novel takes place near Kachemak Bay AK and, living in Alaska, I found the details accurate enough it didn’t set off my bullshit-ometer, like a certain amount of ‘Alaska’ books do.
I have to say, being older, I’m not a total fan of dystopian young-adult fiction and I’m not the target audience. It’s a popular genre and there’s a lot of it around. But there were current event analogies brought into the story, which I think many will relate, at least mildly, to. And the story was interesting in many ways. It had a lot of well-researched detail about the life the family were forced to live ‘in hiding’ and there was a gritty realism to it. What do you do if you’re a teenage mixed-race girl coming of age in a time of catastrophic climate change, forced to sequester for the mere fact of your skin color, and people, in a panic, targeting your race as the cause?
The family’s choices are entirely based on this threatening premise. I think most long-time Alaskans have the scenario stuck somewhere in the back of their heads of ‘escaping’ to the wilderness and living off the land if any threatening event occurs. So there is a little bit of that fantasy unfolding in this novel - how do they do it? I think in this respect, the author presented a well-thought out scenario.
There has to be a situation, or antagonist, that drives the story forward, other than climate change as the villain. It’s brought in as a survivalist group of Mad Max proportions who discover the little family, at which point they have more than their environment to protect themselves from. It’s at this point where a little bit of magical realism comes into play, and becomes an important part of what unfolds to the end of the book.
I know painting villains as essentially psychopaths is common in literature like this and movies, but my preference is for the grayer shades. I suspect many will find the villains and their storyline satisfying. It allows for a dramatic resolution you can cheer for. And leaves open the possibility of a return of at least one of the villains, which I hope not - I found him so unredeemable and over the top that all you’re left with is fighting the evil he represents and destroying it. But that scenario is such a proven vote-getter (look at Star War’s Palpatine) that it’s a possibility.
I found the last paragraph a little surprising. But it’s apparent it will play into the sequel which supposedly is in the works. In which case, it acts as the bridge between part one and part two.
All in all, I was back and forth about it. Like I said, I’m not the target readership. The Alaskan angle was a draw for me. I wavered between three and four stars, but her accuracy of detail about an area I have a soft spot for made me choose four. I think the young author has promise based on this debut book and she made me care for the beleaguered family.
I have to say, being older, I’m not a total fan of dystopian young-adult fiction and I’m not the target audience. It’s a popular genre and there’s a lot of it around. But there were current event analogies brought into the story, which I think many will relate, at least mildly, to. And the story was interesting in many ways. It had a lot of well-researched detail about the life the family were forced to live ‘in hiding’ and there was a gritty realism to it. What do you do if you’re a teenage mixed-race girl coming of age in a time of catastrophic climate change, forced to sequester for the mere fact of your skin color, and people, in a panic, targeting your race as the cause?
The family’s choices are entirely based on this threatening premise. I think most long-time Alaskans have the scenario stuck somewhere in the back of their heads of ‘escaping’ to the wilderness and living off the land if any threatening event occurs. So there is a little bit of that fantasy unfolding in this novel - how do they do it? I think in this respect, the author presented a well-thought out scenario.
There has to be a situation, or antagonist, that drives the story forward, other than climate change as the villain. It’s brought in as a survivalist group of Mad Max proportions who discover the little family, at which point they have more than their environment to protect themselves from. It’s at this point where a little bit of magical realism comes into play, and becomes an important part of what unfolds to the end of the book.
I know painting villains as essentially psychopaths is common in literature like this and movies, but my preference is for the grayer shades. I suspect many will find the villains and their storyline satisfying. It allows for a dramatic resolution you can cheer for. And leaves open the possibility of a return of at least one of the villains, which I hope not - I found him so unredeemable and over the top that all you’re left with is fighting the evil he represents and destroying it. But that scenario is such a proven vote-getter (look at Star War’s Palpatine) that it’s a possibility.
I found the last paragraph a little surprising. But it’s apparent it will play into the sequel which supposedly is in the works. In which case, it acts as the bridge between part one and part two.
All in all, I was back and forth about it. Like I said, I’m not the target readership. The Alaskan angle was a draw for me. I wavered between three and four stars, but her accuracy of detail about an area I have a soft spot for made me choose four. I think the young author has promise based on this debut book and she made me care for the beleaguered family.
December 11, 2022
Amazing!
Absolutely loved this book and cannot wait for the next one! I highly recommend this book. Adventure awaits! Make sure you have free time because once you start reading, you won't be able to put it down.
Absolutely loved this book and cannot wait for the next one! I highly recommend this book. Adventure awaits! Make sure you have free time because once you start reading, you won't be able to put it down.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews