Book description
What happens when life in a perfect, protected bubble unravels? The
heroine of the first novel in an exciting sci-fi / fantasy series for
young adult readers is about to find out. This exciting, futuristic
novel with a strong heroine and a compelling storyline won Fleur Beale
the Esther Glen Award 2009 and was shortlisted for the 2009 NZ Post
Children's Book Awards. It explores the struggle of Juno, a young teen
on the verge of adulthood, who is torn between her need to fit in and
belong in her society, and her growing discomfort and questioning of
that society's rules. Your ordinary teen? Not quite! Because Juno lives
à Â- in the not-too-distant future à Â- on Taris, a bubble-covered
island in the Pacific, to which a select few hundred people were
evacuated when Earth's inhabitants took everything just a bit too far
and began to self-destruct. On Taris there are many rules governing
appearance, behaviour, even procreation à  but all are for the good of
the community, to ensure the survival of humankind. Or are they? As
Taris' protected environment begins to break down and Juno's questioning
nature takes hold, she uncovers some startling inconsistencies in many
of the 'factual' histories she has grown up with. She also begins to
develop some quite startling, almost supernatural, abilities. As Juno
faces increasing danger, she finds allies in the most surprising places.
Juno of Taris examines many themes: peer pressure, environmental
breakdown, the fictionalization of history, societal control and
challenging authority. But perhaps most important of all, it is a
thoroughly good read from one of New Zealand's very best writers for
young adults. Fleur Beale is the author of many much-loved
award-winning books - she has had more than 30 books published in New
Zealand, the US and England. Fleur won the Storylines Gaelyn Gordon
Award for a Much-Loved Book with Slide the Corner in 2007, the same
award in 2009 for I am not Esther and the Esther Glen Award for Juno of
Taris in the 2009 LIANZA Children's Book Awards. Fierce September was
the Young Adult Fiction Category Award Winner at the 2011 New Zealand
Post Children's Book Awards. Fleur won the Margaret Mahy Medal in 2012.
