When We Hold Each Other Up

by Phoebe Wagner

One rule oversees the post-apocalypse: never refuse a Harmonizer.

Storytellers claim there are two original stories. When a stranger named Eduardo, a Harmonizer with extraordinary powers, arrives with a warning, Rowan senses life is about to change. Eduardo warns that Haven City is growing and all those living in the expansion zone are in danger.

As the living world recovers from ecocide, the Harmonizers control cities to keep the human population in balance. But while the Harmonizers claim their actions are peaceful, Eduardo says they’re taking too much and returning to the patterns that caused the world to warm.

Rowan decides to head out with Eduardo on a quest to warn others living in solarpunk communities that have fallen within the newly expanded city limits. Along the way, Rowan collects stories of survival and realizes fleeing the city will only encourage its expansion. Rowan and Eduardo must face the harm buried deep in their pasts if they’re to have any hope of bringing the city to a halt.

Genres: Solarpunk, Science Fiction, Novella, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Fantasy

146 pages, Paperback

First published April 18, 2023

About the author

Phoebe Wagner is an author, editor, and academic writing and living at the intersection of speculative fiction and ecology. She tweets as @pheebs_w.

Reviews

[Mae · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the way this was written; I loved the imagined solarpunk world. I enjoyed the short-lived adventure of our two main characters: Rowan and Erhent and the beautifully-described little communities and towns that they visited. It's very gentle and has an interesting concept, specifically that of the Harmonizers: the idea that some of these creatures have the power to fix what has been damaged, and yet choose to expand and destroy in the name of progress. I love how, in its own unique way, it paints a realistic picture on the struggles of fighting for our natural world, of climate justice, peaceful resistance and the climate anxiety of having so much more work to do. Sometimes I feel like Rowan, sometimes I feel like Erhent. I love how this is a hopeful book despite depicting so much work yet to be done in this fictional world. Overall, a really solid solarpunk novella. It would be nice to have a full-length novel set in this world. :)

I received an advance review copy for free from the publisher, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Goran Lowie · Rating 4 out of 5]

When We Hold Each Other Up is a very fascinating take on pacifist resistance in a post-eco-apocalypse world. After the climate wars, people either live in cities run by Harmonizers (some strange more-than-human people who are able to “balance” the world by taking and giving calories, among other things) or in little solarpunk communities who try to live in balance with nature in their own little ways.

The story starts with Rowan, a young person lives in a small community when a Harmonizer arrives at their orchard and feeds on it, leaving ruin in his wake. Though the others are distrustful of him and leave him to die, Rowan decides to save him—because, like in the stories, we survive when we hold each other up. Truly, this is one of the core themes of the book, trying to find compromise and help those who may not seem the most deserving of it.

The Harmonizer is in fact a dissenter who has come to help them against other Harmonizers. The city seems to be going on the wrong path again, losing its balance, instead trying to mindlessly grow and destroy nature like the cities of old. Rowan and the Harmonizer must warn the nearby villages and see what they can do to help.

There’s more to it and it goes places I thought were quite interesting. There’s a big focus on the telling of stories and the way they help us understand and survive in this world. You’ll come to adore the two protagonists and their little communities. Above all, what I respected in this novella is the fully-realized, authentic feeling solarpunk wordbuilding. In most books, this either feels too forced or too vague. Take Becky Chambers’ Monk and Robot books, for example. They are books I love, but everyone calls them some of the great current solarpunk novellas while I always felt like solarpunk was only used as a background—here, it’s the very core.

If there’s one small nitpick, I thought the ending was very rushed. You have a story with perfect pacing, and suddenly it speeds up massively and conveniently wraps stuff up in a way that felt like there was much more story to tell. While I enjoyed the ending, I would’ve preferred to see a more fleshed out ending.

But I really liked this book. It had shades of the Earthseed books, for me. Phoebe Wagner has long been a prominent voice in the solarpunk community, and this book shows that. A voice to keep an eye on.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Walter Underwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

I guess solarpunk can include fantasy elements, but this was too far into fantasy and magic for me. I see solarpunk as saying something practical about our future, but in the first paragraph, we have a person who is draining "life energy" (or something like that) from an apple tree. And, maybe this is nitpicking, but how do you heal part of an aspen grove, when it is a single organism with a common root system? Characterization was pretty light, focusing mostly on the world building. That would be OK if the ecological society was given in more detail. We never find out how Haven City feeds themselves after ten years of improvement, only that the city feels better through the feet of the skateboarders. Right.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this write has a lot of promise, and there is a great idea for a story here, but I really had a hard time with the really uneven pacing of the book. At times it was racing so fast that I felt like I had missed entire sections of the book, and near the end things seemed to be moving surprisingly slowly. There is a beautiful story to be found here, but I think the author needs some more time to flesh out her style. I think that shorter form novellas are often a lot more difficult to pace than longer form fiction, and short stories the most difficult of all to pull off successfully.

First solar-punk novella I’ve read, and I’m definitely intrigued.

[Vera Kabushemeye · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I was given a digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

This novella is about stories―real, altered, fabricated―the gatekeeping of information, justice, standing up to devastating power and well, what happens when people hold each other up. This novella has a really compelling start! Every time I set it down, I wanted to pick it right up.

Despite a great start, the narration quickly devolves into exposition. Except it’s *good* exposition! I was so surprised with that; it’s been ages since I’ve read compelling, riveting exposition. I didn’t care at all since the world Wagner created is interesting from the way information is passed down, to how these people live in solarpunk communities, how people live to stay in balance with the land―it was all refreshing.

Wagner’s prose is beautiful in its simplicity. Many descriptions are novel in their phrasing.

And it doesn’t stop there! Wagner knows how to slowly reveal characters. In particular, the way she wrote Eduardo made him into a rounded and nuanced character. In fact, nothing is black or white in this novella and I loved that!

I have seen in a few other reviews of this novella that people thought the ending was rushed. I understand why they might have thought so. At the beginning chapters can span just a few days and at the end whole years pass by. That said, I thought that was the right approach. Legislation and activism take time; it’s normal that years would have to pass. Maybe they wanted to see everything being resolved in one fell swoop, but that’s not how things happen in real life.

I will admit that When We Hold Each Other Up had a bit of a preachy vibe, especially at the beginning. I can see how someone who doesn’t even believe climate change is happening would find it very in-their-face. However, the radical kindness among the characters, the love they show towards the land, and warmth of Rowan’s family will rub off on you.

All in all, this world Wagner created is a great depiction of pacifist resistance that doesn’t spit in the eye of the oppressed. It’s all about multiple tactics to both defend their communities and the land as well as attack the unjust systems. And all of it happens in a post-eco-apocalypse world with an authentic solarpunk world-building.

I really liked this novella. It did everything I wanted from a solarpunk title and some! The world-building is stellar, the struggle heart-wrenching yet uplifting, the writing beautiful. Maybe there was some pacing issues but it shouldn’t deter you from picking up this novella.
In particular, I would recommend this novella to younger readers (around the same age of the narrator: 15).

To read my full review, check out my blog.

[Andrew Dincher · Rating 5 out of 5]

When We Hold Each Other Up is an absolutely amazing book. Phoebe’s writing is incredible, and their inclusion of unique world building, compelling characters, and a thoughtful look a world attempting to recover from a climate apocalypse, creates the setting for a fresh take on apocalyptic stories.

As the reader, you follow Edwardo and Rowan on an adventure to warn all those who are currently living outside city limits that the city is expanding. So, basically, its either leave and find a new home or be forcibly integrated in the city. I particularly enjoyed Edwardo’s story. He is a bit of an enigma during the first half of the book, but his story continues to unfurl as the plot moves along. I found him to be a fresh take on the older male mentor character.

One other theme that recurs throughout the story is the idea that the stories we tell ourselves and each other every day have a profound affect on us as individuals. Sometimes it seems as if some people have simply been led astray by the stories they have chosen to follow whether willingly or on accident. Regardless, this aspect of the book is incredibly profound and caused me to reevaluate some of the stories I have been following, perhaps blindly, for most of my life.

[Marvin Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

When We Hold Each Other Up is the perfect blend of dystopian and solarpunk fiction. It's dystopian in that the world is slowly climbing back from climate disasters that ravaged the landscape. And it's solarpunk in not just because of the tech described in the book but that even among all the tragedies the world suffered. And hardships that the characters still face. No matter what there's always hope on the horizon.

The story is about a young boy Rowan as he travels Earth's dystopian landscape accompanied by the enigmatic Harmonizer Eduardo.

The novella is brilliantly written with the only draw back being its length. I wish the it would have been a full novel.

[Gail Kulp · Rating 5 out of 5]

“When We Hold Each Other Up” is unlike any book that I’ve ever read, but if I knew of others like it, I’d want to read them, too. The settings and characters are very well developed for a story that’s only 136 pages long. And in a story that focuses on a world that is nearly destroyed by climate change and pollution, what sets this story apart is the aspiration and hope with which the characters approach their world. Most books with this type of post-apocalyptic topic focus on the dark and gloom to bring about change, but Phoebe Wagner’s characters dream of a better future with uplifting interactions. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a new adventure to read.

[Christopher Kulp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent writing and a beautifully imagined world make this a must read for those looking to get into solarpunk, or anyone who just wants a story about a better world. The characters are complex and have fascinating relationships. The setting is vibrant. The plot moves along nicely as it weaves its way through multiple different settings. It amazes me that Wagner fit all this in a novella without it once feeling overwhelming. I hadn't read many novellas before, but Wagner's book makes me want to read more of them and to explore the genre of solarpunk further.

[Michael Miele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rowan's journey to the city of Haven was a gripping read and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to see the different groups of people and how they organized into these small communities with their own cultures and sayings. I think that is what helped to contribute to the feeling that this could be our world someday, in all those details and possibilities. I also loved the description of the city of Haven as a living, breathing entity. One whose presence could be felt by its citizens if they knew where to look. It felt like a natural extension of the themes of listening to the environment that were explored in the beginning of the book. The Harmonizers as a concept was interesting as well. What happens when a force for balance decides they are done playing by the rules they set and all. As a fellow writer, the emphasis on the power of stories was a part of the book that resonated with me. I felt like some of the pacing was a bit rushed, especially towards the end of the book once they make it to Haven City, but overall a very strong novella that paints a hopeful picture for the future.

[Laura King · Rating 2 out of 5]

85% of this was absolutely lovely, and then suddenly capitalism was defeated with skateboards and free meals for the poor.