by HM Waugh

Rhiza Edge

RRP $19.99

Eva is far from home when everything goes wrong.

And then it gets even worse.

Her evacuation bus leaves her behind, stranded with classmates she barely knows. The chase is on. But South America is big, and the old rules are changing quickly. This is the road trip Eva never knew she needed.

This is the race for the last flight home.

Awards

• CBCA Book of the Years Awards 2022: Notable Book (Older Readers)

Want to know the background to this YA novel?

Well, when I was 21 I headed around the world, and for me that had to include South America. I wanted to cross the salt lakes of the altiplano, see the Nasca lines, canoe through the Amazon. I got to do all those things and more. Met amazing people. Ate fabulous food.  I also got kidnapped several times, and stuck in so many road blockades I became almost used to shouldering my pack and weaving my way through the barbed wire and burning tyres to get to the other side.

These experiences and my love of those places inspired this story. Because when things go wrong, sometimes there’s no choice but to keep on trying to make it out the other side. And that’s always more fun with friends around.

Why that protagonist?

I wanted a female protagonist who fights not with her hands, but with her mental strength, resilience and art. I hope you like her as much as I do!