In Lewis’s imaginative debut, legal reporter Eliza has become somewhat resigned in her journalistic crusade against climate change. A collective of animals, spiders, and insects called NoHoSap makes contact with her, speaking English, and once she’s over that astonishment she’s surprised to find that her pet dog, Bepop, is one of their members–the same pet she was told “didn’t make it” after a recent emergency veterinary visit. At a meeting, NoHoSap (short for “No Homo Sapiens”) members Rumple, Tumple, The Captain, and more explain to Eliza that the group’s mission is to protect “all living beings except humans.” They’ve established a non-human sanctuary, they charge her with helping them convince humanity to take action at last to halt the climate crisis. Eliza is keen to assist the animals in getting the word out, but she struggles at times with adapting to their worldview.

The idea of animals leading the fight against climate change as humans continually fail to do so is an interesting premise, and Lewis’s vivid scenes of animals taking on activist projects, like tying live coral to bleached out reefs, are moving. At times, the narrative tension is diminished by the character’s choices—for example, when Eliza hears that Bebop needs her help for something “extremely important,” the next paragraph describes how “they ran and played.”

This light tone distracts from the gravitas of larger themes, like climate change and species-ending environmental destruction. Some readers will find sections unconvincing—such as the animals “taking things into their own hands” largely by using blogs and social media—and not much action happens until the end. Still, the descriptions of natural world disasters, such as a flood that threatens several animals in the woods, will stir empathy for wildlife in even the most stoic readers, and the repeated message of “focusing on the positive” may inspire young readers especially to take action.

Takeaway: A woman teams up with animals to fight climate change in this imaginative story.

Great for fans of: Laura Jean McKay’s The Animals in That Country, Richard Adams’s The Plague Dogs.

Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: B
Illustrations: A
Editing: B
Marketing copy: B+