It's early June and millions of people are moving north to escape the deadly heat of summer. When thirteen-year-old Jemma and her sister Hanna are left behind, they must find their own way north, walking at night across the scorched and dangerous land. Years earlier their mother struggles to find a job and feed her daughters, as the environment and economy deteriorates as she is pushed towards desparate measures. Within these timelines is a story of shocking cruelty, unexpected compassion, profound determination and a fight for survival on an altered Earth.
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Praise for North
"NORTH is dystopian drama that will have you flipping through the pages just to see what's next. But don't do that! In his taut narrative, Horton has carefully chosen every word — something you will want to savor. His interconnected storylines effortlessly move between time periods, weaving the narrative of the past with the immediate, present narrative. This is a timely novel, illuminating the reality of climate change, in a story written with courage, candor and colour. At times shocking, at times filled with the fiercest love, NORTH, and its cast of scrappy characters, will stay with you, long after you close the book"
Author of They Don't Run Red Trains Anymore and Two White Queens and the One-Eyed Jack, HR Percy Novel Prize winner, Forward Indies finalist
"Peter Horton's debut novel is a smartly crafted, often moving and sometimes heart-breaking addition to the literature of the apocalypse. North puts the reader in mind of such dystopian classics as Stephen King's The Stand and Cormac McCarthy's The Road. Unlike those two novels, Horton is able to find much more humanity on an overheating earth that is causing societal structures to crumble. He achieves this with his two main characters, the thirteen-year-old Jemma and her older sister, Hanna. Orphaned, the girls must fight for survival, facing often impossible odds as they make an incredible journey north (to Canada?) escaping the searing heat of the south (Texas?). The younger Jemma, the much more mature and resourceful of the sisters, is also the beating heart of this spare, tough-minded but ultimately hopeful novel."
Former Toronto Star critic and co-author (with Prudence Emery) of the Priscilla Tempest mystery novels
"A thrilling work with cinematic scope and arresting depth, spinning a tale of familial heartbreak that comes searingly alive in the details... Jemma is a singular character you won't soon forget."
Author of Mooncalves, Autonomy, and Into The Mist, shortlisted for the Amazon Canada First Novel Awards