Puffin, 1995

pbk, $14.95
014037938X

"The Lake At The End Of The World" is a science fiction story set in the future. It is not a very nice future. The world has been destroyed by a lot of pollution and people have been poisoned. Diana lives with her mum and dad next to this lake. They don't use the lake because they think it is polluted. The family used to contact other people by radio, but that doesn't happen much anymore. Her mum and dad have given up on life.

Diana gets around by flying. She has this hang glider that she uses. One day she meets a strange boy, Hector. The thing about Hector is that he is very pale and talks differently. Diana learns later that this is because Hector lives underground away from the sun.

Diana and Hector learn to trust each other and they become friends. She learns from Hector that the lake is not poisoned and that the water can be drunk.

Hector takes Diana to this strange community that lives underground. This community is ruled by a boss who doesn't treat his people very kindly. Hector and Diana eventually escape from this place and live on the surface.

You need to be a good reader for this novel. It is best read by Year 6 students and above. It is an interesting story, but a bit hard to follow in places.

I would give it a score of 8/10 and would recommend it to good readers who enjoy fantasy/science fiction.

Mia, Yr 6, Victoria