IT’S NOT EASY TO CHANGE THE WORLD,
BUT YOU’VE GOT TO TRY, RIGHT?
From Britain . . .
Georgia gets straight As at school, writes essays for fun, has been placed first in twenty-six drone races and has a serious addiction to buying Japanese stationery. She plans to follow her older sister Sophie and become a doctor, but her worldview is shattered when Sophie commits suicide.
To Nigeria . . .
Julius lives in Ondo, a Nigerian state where half the population lives on less than a dollar a day. But he isn't one of them. His uncle has been governor of Ondo for more than a decade and his mother is the power behind that throne. He finds refuge in a derelict zoo with best friend Duke, but as the two of them grow close, the world outside becomes more and more hostile.
Following two teenagers living very different lives, ARCTIC ZOO is a novel about protest, sexuality, mental heath and flawed leadership.
AUTHORS COMMENT
ARCTIC ZOO CAME FROM THE WORST YEAR OF MY LIFE!
In 2012 I was forty years old. I was an author who had topped bestseller lists in six countries, I’d just moved into my dream house and achieved most of my life goals, but felt so miserable that I tried to kill myself.
I wound up spending three months in a psychiatric hospital. I met my characters Georgia and Julius there, or at least troubled but brilliant teenagers who were very much like them.
In group therapy I listened to their stories of adult betrayal, crippling academic expectations and above all else, the way these young adults wanted to be good people but didn’t know how.
When I left hospital I wanted to write about my experience and the people I met, but it took me five years to figure out how. The result is Arctic Zoo, a book about two teens who meet in a mental health unit and want to make a difference in a world where there are a lot more questions than answers.
I hope you enjoy reading it!
ROBERT MUCHAMORE
INFORMATION
ARCTIC ZOO
Published July 11th 2019 by Hot Key books.
£12.99 Hardback
ISBN: 9781471407642
Audio & E-book available.
