We Speak Through the Mountain

April 1, 2024

Reid Graham has "won" a coveted place at Howse University, one of the few surviving enclaves of pre-collapse technology and society in this post-climate-apocalypse world. Howse is supposed to serve as a beacon and a haven, but as Reid tries to reconcile her new life of ease, plenty, and knowledge-seeking with the "real" world she grew up in--the world of danger and illness and hardship and community--she begins to realize that Howse isn't so much a paradise as it is a trap that no one should ever want to leave. Then Reid's community calls her home, and she goes, unable to forsake the people she left behind, no matter the price or the punishment. Howse's world of elite and elitist academia will remind readers of The Practice, the Horizon, and the Chain by Sofia Samatar, but at its heart, this is a story about eating from the Tree of Knowledge and being thrown out of paradise as a result. VERDICT Readers of hopepunk that asks difficult questions will find plenty to think about in Mohamed's follow-up to The Annual Migration of Clouds.--Marlene Harris

Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Eva Tavares provides a warm narration of this dystopian novella. She brings drama and empathy to her depiction of 19-year-old Reid Graham, who is chronically ill as she sets out on a quest to find the postapocalyptic safe haven she's heard about. To get there, she must battle the climate-ravaged terrain of the Alberta Rockies. When at last she reaches the near-mythical "dome" she's been seeking, she finds a community whose people are intentionally withholding resources from the rest of the world. This complex, fascinating follow-up to the award-winning novella THE ANNUAL MIGRATION OF CLOUDS is an immersive listening experience, thanks to Tavares. Her narration provides suitable aural variation and draws the listener into the story and its world. C.F. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine

December 1, 2024

Reid Graham has finally gained entrance to Howse University, a bastion of technology and safety amid a climate-ravaged world. Here, advanced pre-collapse technology forces the parasitic fungus within her into hibernation, allowing her to focus on her studies. After leaving her home, Reid contends with culture shock and survivor's guilt; additionally, the aftereffects of traumatic events detailed in Mohamed's first series entry, The Annual Migration of Clouds, make it difficult to find her place. Howse holds impressive technology and power that could help the world, but Reid soon realizes that her dreams might not align with the university's goals. Eva Tavares gives voice to Reid, channeling her strong will, courage, and certainty. Tavares depicts each classmate's personality perfectly, supplying nuanced accents and character voices that communicate the class conflicts between the privileged dome students and the outsiders. After the much sadder series starter, this latest entry feels far more hopeful, even when the cost of hope is revealed. VERDICT Mohamed's latest is a quick, thought-provoking listen that brings much-needed lightness to the series, even as grimmer horizons loom ahead.--Matthew Galloway

Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.