Synopsis:

A Song for the Earth is a lyrical novel in verse written by an environmental scientist and designed to offer a hopeful perspective on the climate crisis.

The wide, wild world is made of wonder, but as climate change reinvents the landscape, rich ecosystems are under threat. On a journey through Earth’s major biomes, January learns the plight of the planet. Armed with the power of a voice made for poetry, she turns her lyrics into a call for action. Is it enough to write a song for the earth and ask the world to sing along?

Review:

I’ve never been a poetry reader, but when the author reached out to me about this book I was very intrigued. Poetry often eludes me as I am not a particularly emotional reader, and I find that stops me from connecting to it. This sounded different though, a novel in verse with climate change at its heart. I’m really glad that I did read this though, because it was really lovely and it turns out I need the right subject matter to enjoy any sort of poetry.

In this book we follow January as she sets out on a journey from her home city to understand why and how the climate is changing. We visit various environs from the rainforest to the Arctic tundra, and I loved the way they were described. They truly feel alive as the author describes them with all the senses and the cadence of each somehow manages to match how they feel.

Alongside January, we are welcomed into these places by the people who live there. We see how their lives are changing along with the environment. January shares her frustrations and anger, but we are also invited to share in her hope and revel in connection to these wild places.

This book doesn’t preach or lord itself over you. Instead it asks you to listen and to contemplate the world, our place in it, and the things that are happening to it. It is gentle, yet urgent, and I left it feeling inspired.

One thing I particularly appreciated was the references. We are presented with facts through the story, and it was really nice to know that they are backed up! There is also a really great list of things us readers can do to start our own journeys of climate support.

” Like nothing is so insurmountable
that it cannot be fixed by time and care
and a willingness for people to change.
Before the climate does. “

Thank you so much to the author for sending me a copy to read. I highly recommend it to anyone with any amount of love for the natural world, or those who enjoy quiet and thoughtful stories.