Fugitive Rifts

𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸: Fugitive Rifts 📚
𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿: A-M Mawhiney ✍️
.
.

This is a story about four teenagers: Grace, Drew, Ollie, and Dottie who come together as part of a debate team and form an unlikely bond. Each of them carries personal wounds: family pressures, displacement, trauma, neurodivergence, and the quiet ache of not belonging. Their debates about climate change, responsibility, and survival mirror the deeper emotional rifts in their own lives. The novel’s near-future setting, shaped by environmental instability and “fugitive rifts” in the land makes it a great read.

The teenagers feel real. They are flawed, defensive, passionate, and vulnerable in ways that ring true. Dottie, in particular, stands out as a compelling portrayal of a highly intelligent but socially anxious teen, while Grace’s struggle between ambition and loyalty adds emotional weight to the story. Drew’s bravado masking deeper family dysfunction, and Ollie’s quiet wisdom shaped by displacement and loss, round out a cast that feels authentically human.

The environmental elements are woven into the characters’ lives and conversations in a way that feels organic. The debate scenes are especially engaging, offering a smart way to explore differing perspectives on climate change, profit, and responsibility without flattening the complexity of the issues.

Fugitive Rifts is well worth your time. I had a great time reading this book. I strongly recommend it to my fellow readers.

• 𝗠𝘆 𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: 5/5

Buy book on Amazon