Felicity Wheeler, called Flea by everyone, is the protagonist of the YA dystopian novel Shrinking Sinking Land by Kell Cowley. She lives in a world where climate change has become extreme and the only way to solve it is to send all humans underground for the so-called Global Mandatory Hibernation, during which time the government plans to use weather technology to make the surface of the planet a safer place again. However, Flea and others do not want to go underground. Some didn’t have the means to buy a nice underground home and would face six months of working in the facilities just to earn rations. Others do not believe in the words of the government. Others like Dylan believe that the problem isn’t the weather but aliens who have the technology to turn the weather against humanity. When Flea’s and Dylan’s paths cross, a chain reaction of events is set in motion – and suddenly there are strange ships in the sky.

I found Shrinking Sinking Land by Kell Cowley to be a very interesting, exciting, and entertaining read. The author managed to create a plot in which humor, drama, and tragedy all find their own place on the pages without cancelling each other out. While reading, I wasn’t aware that this would be the first book in a series because it is a long book and often first books in a series are rather short. Only when I came closer to the end did I realize that there is so much more to tell – and the story has quite a way to go. Yet the first book ends on a note that leaves you fairly satisfied. I enjoyed the various characters, especially Clementine (some sort of cyborg cat). There are friendships, some light romance, some not so friendly relationships, and your usual bullies. The novel touches on many important topics, especially for younger readers who are in the process of discovering who they really are. It’s a fun read!

Shrinking Sinking Land is an excellent work of YA dystopian climate fiction by debut author Kell Cowley, and the first in a continuing series with Odd Voice Out Publishing. The central plot follows our hero Flea Wheeler, a mixed race girl born into a political decision she had no say in: the Geolution. Global Mandatory Hibernation is coming, and the population of Great Britain must take cover in underground shelters as climate change rocks the world with dangerous floods and terrifying storms. Flea braves the storms on a daily basis, a plucky outcast with little to lose, and the threat of being stuck underground terrifies her due to her intense claustrophobia. It’s only when she meets a group of eco-rebels still trying to dig out the real conspiracy behind the Geolution that Flea discovers there may be another way out.

What I adore most about Shrinking Sinking Land is the authenticity of Kell Cowley’s teenage protagonists. They speak with contemporary voices and realistic reactions, both amusing and heartbreaking as the plot expands. I love Flea’s defiance and her fighting spirit against impossible odds, and her fellow castmates fill out a diverse roster of disability, ethnicity and lgbtq personas that are fascinating and highly engrossing to read about. The plot too is enticing as the threat of the Geolution and hibernation hangs over each one of them, and I couldn't wait to grab the next chapter and keep unveiling the mysterious conspiracy that Flea and Dil are working towards. Overall, this is a superb debut novel sure to entertain and engross its audience. Five stars!