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'For Fin, it’s just like any other day – racing for the school bus, bluffing his way through class and trying to remain cool in front of the most sophisticated girl in his universe. Only it’s not like any other day because, on the other side of the world, nuclear missiles are being detonated.
'When Fin wakes up the next morning, it’s dark, bitterly cold and snow is falling. There’s no internet, no phone, no TV, no power and no parents. Nothing Fin’s learnt in school could have prepared him for this.
'With his parents missing and dwindling food and water supplies, Fin and his younger brother, Max, must find a way to survive in a nuclear winter … all on their own.
'When things are at their most desperate, where can you go for help?'
Source: Publisher's blurb.
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Notes
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Dedication: for Nathan, always.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Dyslexic edition
Related Works
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University of Queensland Press
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2021
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'‘Instinct has kept us alive so far. It’s like a compass in my gut and I tune into the needle often: trust/don’t trust, run/stay. The winter has brought out the animal within all of us and we teeter between predator and prey, trying to find the balance of humanity between the two. I can’t read the needle right now. The warmth of the room is clouding my judgment.’
'Lucy, Fin and Max flee Sydney in the aftermath of a nuclear winter and find comfort and refuge with a small settlement in the southern bushlands. There’s much relief in a warm bed and a full stomach, but soon Lucy begins to question the community’s ideals. Maybe they’re not as safe as they think?' (Publication summary)
Works about this Work
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The Kids Are Alright : Young Adult Post-disaster Novels Can Teach Us about Trauma and Survival
2020
single work
column
— Appears in: The Conversation , 1 June 2020;'COVID-19 is changing the way we live. Panic buying, goods shortages, lockdown – these are new experiences for most of us. But it’s standard fare for the protagonists of young adult (YA) post-disaster novels.' (Introduction)
-
The Perfect Place to Set a Novel about the End of the World? Trends in Australian Post-Nuclear Fiction for Young Adults
2015
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Bookbird , vol. 53 no. 2 2015; (p. 22-29) '"Australia has a fascinating yet contradictory nuclear history," writes Jeffrey Lantis, and this ambiguity can be seen in the post-nuclear young adult fiction produced in that country. British, American and German speculative fiction for young readers set after nuclear disaster tends to suggest reasons for the disaster, and by implication, to position readers towards acting to stop the disaster happening in the real world. By contrast, Australian writers of both fantasy and speculative fiction tend to be less concerned with the cause of the disaster than with how the nuclear apocalypse can be used to explore a range of cultural issues which may appear to have little or nothing to do with nuclear disaster. Working with the notion of apocalypse as both revelation and, more popularly, as a violent "end event" (Curtis), this paper explores why young adult post-nuclear fiction produced in Australia tends to be different from that produced in Britain, the USA and Germany, and demonstrates how the nuclear disaster is used in a selection of Australian young adult post-disaster fiction to address cultural issues, particularly those dealing with Australia's Indigenous population, and with the contemporary treatment of refugees.' (Publication summary) -
Book Review: The Sky So Heavy by Claire Zorn
2015
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: The NSW Writers' Centre Blog
— Review of The Sky So Heavy 2013 single work novel -
An Unflinching Dissection of Human Behavior : Lisa Wardle Reviews ‘The Sky So Heavy’ by Claire Zorn
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: Rochford Street Review , October 2014 – March no. 13 2015;
— Review of The Sky So Heavy 2013 single work novel -
Judges Comments on the Winner and Honour Books : Older Readers
2014
single work
column
— Appears in: Reading Time , August 2014;
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[Review] The Sky So Heavy
2013
single work
review
— Appears in: Books + Publishing , April vol. 92 no. 5 2013; (p. 15)
— Review of The Sky So Heavy 2013 single work novel -
[Review] The Sky So Heavy
2013
single work
review
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 9 November vol. 9 November no. 2013; (p. 20)
— Review of The Sky So Heavy 2013 single work novel -
[Review] The Sky So Heavy
2013
single work
review
— Appears in: Good Reading , October 2013; (p. 64)
— Review of The Sky So Heavy 2013 single work novel -
An Unflinching Dissection of Human Behavior : Lisa Wardle Reviews ‘The Sky So Heavy’ by Claire Zorn
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: Rochford Street Review , October 2014 – March no. 13 2015;
— Review of The Sky So Heavy 2013 single work novel -
The Sky So Heavy by Claire Zorn
2013
single work
review
— Appears in: Buzz Words , September 2013;
— Review of The Sky So Heavy 2013 single work novel -
Writing Their Way to Fame
2014
single work
column
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 12 April 2014; (p. 58) -
Judges Comments on the Winner and Honour Books : Older Readers
2014
single work
column
— Appears in: Reading Time , August 2014; -
The Perfect Place to Set a Novel about the End of the World? Trends in Australian Post-Nuclear Fiction for Young Adults
2015
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Bookbird , vol. 53 no. 2 2015; (p. 22-29) '"Australia has a fascinating yet contradictory nuclear history," writes Jeffrey Lantis, and this ambiguity can be seen in the post-nuclear young adult fiction produced in that country. British, American and German speculative fiction for young readers set after nuclear disaster tends to suggest reasons for the disaster, and by implication, to position readers towards acting to stop the disaster happening in the real world. By contrast, Australian writers of both fantasy and speculative fiction tend to be less concerned with the cause of the disaster than with how the nuclear apocalypse can be used to explore a range of cultural issues which may appear to have little or nothing to do with nuclear disaster. Working with the notion of apocalypse as both revelation and, more popularly, as a violent "end event" (Curtis), this paper explores why young adult post-nuclear fiction produced in Australia tends to be different from that produced in Britain, the USA and Germany, and demonstrates how the nuclear disaster is used in a selection of Australian young adult post-disaster fiction to address cultural issues, particularly those dealing with Australia's Indigenous population, and with the contemporary treatment of refugees.' (Publication summary) -
The Kids Are Alright : Young Adult Post-disaster Novels Can Teach Us about Trauma and Survival
2020
single work
column
— Appears in: The Conversation , 1 June 2020;'COVID-19 is changing the way we live. Panic buying, goods shortages, lockdown – these are new experiences for most of us. But it’s standard fare for the protagonists of young adult (YA) post-disaster novels.' (Introduction)
Awards
- 2019 honour book KOALA Awards — Fiction for Years 7-9
- 2019 shortlisted REAL Awards — Fiction for Years 7-9
- 2017 shortlisted West Australian Young Readers' Book Award — Older Readers
- 2014 honour book CBCA Book of the Year Awards — Book of the Year: Older Readers
- 2014 shortlisted Inky Awards — Gold Inky
