It is based on historical events
surrounding the most destructive bushfires our land has experienced.
It is 2033, Gilbert is branded a firebug. Life is unbearable as everyone shuns him.
It is thirteen years since the country’s worst fires, for which Gil’s mother was accused of starting. His dad refuses to talk to him about his mother.
But why does Gil always know when there is going to
be a fire? His premonitions come on via a pain from a burn mark on his
shoulder.
To get Gil away from the constant harassment and accusations from peers and townspeople, his dad decides to send him to boarding school, far away.
Just before Gil is to leave, he meets Vargo, a mysterious man that has been shadowing him. He demands Gil accompany him.
Who is Vargo? What is he keeping from Gil?
The fires have already started.
Reluctant Gil is taken to the mouth of a fire where a tunnel appears. teleported to a place 200 kilometres away, it is 1983 and the fires of Ash Wednesday are burning.
This begins his search for truth and reason, for
his mother, and the answer to questions about his family line, their Fire
Seeking skills, and more.
Why has Gil been chosen to time travel to the major
bushfires in Victoria: to 1939 and the Black Friday fires, the ferocious fires
in Victoria of February 1851, the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires, the worst in Australia’s
history, and the Currowan bushfires in 2019.
Each visit reveals more information on his family history. What is his real role in all this tragedy? How can he make the choices expected of him, and will they answer his questions?
Title: Timefire
Author: Nean McKenzie
Publisher: MidnightSun Publishing, $17.99
Publication Date: 1 July 2023
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781922858030
For ages: 10 – 14
Type: Middle Grade Fiction
