The Carbon Diaries 2015

I borrowed The Carbon Diaries 2015 by Saci Lloyd from my friend's 15-year-old son. I must say that, although the story is certainly not optimistic, if today's teenagers are reading stuff like this then maybe our world can be saved somehow.

The book is actually the diary of Laura, a 16-year-old girl loving in 2015 London. Her world is completely different from ours, after climate change starts to have some serious effects on the weather and environment. In her diary, she chronicles the first year of carbon rationing in the UK. Basically, each person gets a card with a certain amount of carbon points they can use in the year. Going over is simply not an option anymore. Laura describes her and her family's daily trials in this new system - how they conserve heating and are cold at night, how they stop buying anything that's not local, how using the car is an unthinkable luxury and even the bus is only for times when you have enough points on your card.

The books paints a very grim picture of where we're heading. It's even more terrifying because it is set in 2015 - not very long from now at all. And I can totally imagine this world happening. Really. I think that this is where we're heading. Hopefully the fact that Al Gore is out there and the fact that people like Saci Lloyd are writing books for teens about the consequences we are facing will help our future.

Laura, a normal teenager who likes to go to concerts and is worried about love, realises very quickly what matters and what doesn't. Watching tv is not essential. Protecting yourself and your loved ones in a storm is. It can't get any simpler.

I'd definitely recommend this book, I think that it has a very worthwhile message for us all.

Challenges: Genre Challenge, Countdown Challenge