Whoa! Buckle up if you are taking a chance on this story! Released during the global pandemic and you might think Kenneth Oppel has psychic powers to see the future given the subject and the storyline of Bloom, the first in a trilogy of cryptogenic middle grade novels. 

When a strange rain covers most of the planet bringing with in invasive plants, three teenagers from Salt Spring Island seem unaffected by the allergen spewing plants.  These teenagers previously suffering from terrible allergies actually even seem to be getting stronger. What is happening and how can global food crops be saved from these horrible plants?

The book starts with a bang and doesn’t let you go. Even on it’s last pages, you will be begging for fall 2020 for the second book in the series, Hatch.  Writing from the perspective of three different characters, Anaya, Petra and Seth, Kenneth Oppel mixes in the voices of all three characters and you get a little indication of whose perspective you are reading with little icons each time the voice changes. Changing between the thoughts and feelings of each of the characters keeps this book moving along at a fast pace. The excitement and suspense hardly ever stop, keeping the reader intensely focused on the action. I read this book in a day and a half so I know there are young readers out there who will be busy all day with this fabulous story. 

Science Fiction and adventure all perfect for the long days of no school and the requirement of physical distancing.