Jonah is a pizza delivery guy who lives in a place people call the D-Zone (Demolition Zone).

The D-Zone is a place with gangs, con-artists, frequent earthquakes and, surprisingly, a choir. Jonah is a ‘glimpser’, people who can see earthquakes before they come.

As a pizza delivery guy, Jonah has seen a lot of things. Like most people in the D-Zone Jonah is also illegally living there.

When his friend Bas disappears, Jonah knows he must find him. In fact, he puts everything at risk to do so, even his life.

Glimpse is a novel that demonstrates conflict between loyalty and freedom of life. The Demolition Zone is full of action, clashing loyalties and lies.

This book is perfect for people who like conspiracies and crime, mixed with a bit of sci-fi. My favourite character is Evie, an encouraging and passionate person in the book who inspires hope and courage by singing in the choir. She sings of defiance and freedom.

Reviewed by Rose, Year 7
Broughton Anglican College
Menangle Park NSW
Age Guide 14+

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

I became an academic at the University of Canterbury then at Lincoln University, specializing in research with young people about their lives. I wrote a lot of non-fiction for academic journals, kept reading and finally had a go at writing a novel, The Bridge. I was lucky to be part of the inaugural intake of the Hagley Writers’ Institute – more wonderful people, including tutors and fellow scribblers. In their company, The Bridge grew from a short story into something longer and more complicated.

Havoc followed in 2015 – a sequel to The Bridge about, of all things, a pandemic.

And now Glimpse. This story was born of my experience of two big earthquakes in 2010/11 that killed nearly 200 people and destroyed our city centre and many homes. Those big quakes were followed by thousands of others (some small, some not). That’s something we all learned about earthquakes – there’s never just one. Glimpse is a tribute to the many great people who worked (and still work) for a just rebuilding of the city.

Jane Higgins won the 2010 Text Prize for her debut novel The Bridge. She lives in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Visit Jane Higgins’ website