THE TIMES CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE YEAR 2025.

'There's deep disquiet in this dystopian thriller' – Daily Mail

'A spellbinding and chilling fable' – Financial Times

'Hugely thought-provoking, frequently frustrating, this speculative YA novel will stay in the mind long after it’s finished' – The Guardian

When Xavier wakes up on the first morning of an enforced family weekend away with his pregnant step-mum and dad, he doesn't recognise where they are; it's as if the house has inexplicably been transported to the set of a video game, inside an impenetrable dome where the family have been 'donated' chickens, goats, wheat to help them survive. There is no trace of their mysterious captors and no way to escape.

Three years later, he's sixteen and resigned to life without the internet, other people, let alone a girlfriend... when suddenly another family appears, one with vastly contrasting political ideologies and priorities. In the confines of this strange world, Xavier and 17-year-old gorgeous Mackenzie are thrown together, Mackenzie's erratic father becomes obsessively fixated on escape, and tensions between the two families begin to rise with devastating and tragic consequences...

Kenneth Oppel's most thrilling novel to date is challenging, provocative and unforgettable.