Description
The city of Terra Nova was founded on a lie: that the spirits who cross over from the spirit world are evil and must be captured for the safety of humanity.
But Molly Stout and her family have learned that the spirits are thinking, feeling beings, enslaved to enrich the wealthy, especially the spirit-harvesting company Haviland Industries and its founder, Charles Arkwright. With the help of her family and the aetheric spirits Ariel and Legerdemain, Molly has been fighting to free the spirits. But Terra Nova runs on spiritual machinery, and for each factory they shut down, another takes its place. As Haviland Industries and the authorities of Terra Nova tighten their nets around Molly, she begins to question whether she is really making any difference or if her rebellion puts people and spirits at risk.
Terra Nova is the sequel to Dominion.
Recommended Age, Grade, and Reading Levels
- Age:
- 9 to 12
- Grade:
- 4 to 7
- Reading age:
- 9 to 12
Awards
- Commended, CCBC Best Books for Kids & Teens, starred selection
Editorial Reviews
“The action and adventure continues in this steampunk sequel, but it's Molly's struggle to learn to live with consequences that drives this story.”
— The Horn Book Online
"Cruel, slave-driving industrialists look out. Molly's back! And your dark satanic mills are ripe for liberating. Terra Nova packs the same page-turning action as Dominion did and with every bit as much of the imaginative, thought-provoking, enviro-political clout that was at the heart of the first book. Molly Stout is as brave as ever but she has matured, grappling with what is wrong and what is right—questioning her motives. She's stubborn and rebellious and altruistic to a fault but reckless, too, and this emotional complexity makes her all the more engaging. Spirit-touched, she is: a girl bound to the wind, wanting to bring together the powerful but invisible spirits that animate human kind and the world at large. I think Arbuthnott has come up with a whole new subgenre; let's call it Spirit Punk. I love it!"
— Tim Wynne-Jones, award-winning author of <i>The Ruinous Sweep</i>
★ "In this sequel, Arbuthnott elevates his story by introducing engaging new characters that provide depth to the back story of the British colony of Dominion. Old enemies and lost friends appear as Arbuthnott avoids clichés and plot tricks, allowing this imaginative steampunk fantasy to slowly build as he introduces Molly to the wonders of a spectacular spirit world. This spectacular sequel takes steampunk into new territory."
— Kirkus Reviews, starred review
"Sometimes a book comes along that rocks you back on your heels, smacks the self-pity, the selfishness, and ignorance out of you, and makes you ashamed of your own timidity. And sometimes that book happens to be a kids' book. Read Dominion, and then read Terra Nova. Read them for you. Read them for your kids. Read them to your kids. Let your kids read them and ask you questions. I don't care how you do it; I'm just asking you to do it."
— Sci-Fi & Scary blog
"Terra Nova is a strong work of science fiction/fantasy filled with wonder, imagination, life lessons, and complex characters. Molly is the kind of strong protagonist and revolutionary figure that young readers need in today's society where revolution may not be too far away. "
— CM Magazine
