ELEVATION 2: THE RISING TIDE
By Helen Brain, published by Human & Rousseau, 2017
Flame-haired Ebba and her friends have survived both a literal and a political earthquake in a post-apocalyptic South Africa, where the Western Cape is reduced to a series of islands populated by privileged Citizens and slum-dwelling workers.
From being a virtual slave in a bunker under Table Mountain, Ebba is now one of the biggest landowners in the enclave, growing vegetables and providing jobs on a former wine farm.
But she is trusted neither by her former comrades nor by the elite; to add to her woes, she is harassed by visions of her ancestors pressuring her to find four mystic amulets - if she does not have them by the winter solstice the world will end.
And if that weren't enough, the love of her life Micah - a very dodgy character in the eyes of everyone but Ebba - is spending way too much time with his fellow revolutionary, the gorgeous Samantha Lee.
Ebba just wants to rescue the slaves from the bunker, protect her land and her friends and live quietly with Micah, but events, jealousy and the blindness of first love compel her into working with political extremists.
After a slow start the story escalates to a cliffhanging climax - so roll on book three, The Fiery Spiral. But be warned: you really need to read Elevation 1 to make sense of this book - this is young-adult fiction and delightfully full of hormonal angst, and favourite characters are killed off.
Rating: 4/5 stars
Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package. 
