This is the calamity facing Madame Suprema and her senate. With the surging floodwaters lapping at the ancient walls, threatening the five great factories, manufacturing (the source of the country's wealth) must be preserved at all costs. But how great a cost are they willing to pay? Madame Suprema doesn't care to stay and find out, leaving her 15 year old maid, Gloria, magnificently out of her depth in the face of the rising storm, to face the senate. Can Gloria help both the citizens of Praesto AND the displaced Afalians seeking refuge at Rose City? The lives of her friends, the lives of her family, depend on her...but will she have to choose?

Twice Carnegie medal winning Geraldine McCaughrean’s enthralling new novel is set in a world paralysed by natural disaster and dangerous lies.Daisy (my Daisy) was dozy, loving and lollopy. The only time she trod on an unseen pheasant which then collided with her mouth, she didn't know what to do. She was such a joy: she deserved to be immortalised in a book. In The Supreme Lie, it's 1928 and Afalia faces a natural disaster. Unprecedented rain coupled with unimaginable quantities of snowmelt from volcanic activity has caused the Furca River to burst its banks. The entirety of the Furca river basin, the forests, the sawmills, the wetlands, the farms, all are prey to the torrent. Taking out first the homesteads upstream before raging toward the industrial capital, the great walled Praesto City 'with its forest of factory chimneys and its swarming, soot-stained streets.' Heinz gives us a glimpse of the world outside Praesto city. Separated from his human 'family', he is on a mission: to find his boy, Clem. On his way downriver, he meets with people and animals who behave not so very differently from the villains and victims in Praesto City. Normally, if I'm going to set a novel somewhere I've never been, I'll research the flora and fauna, geography, traditions, history, beliefs ... But here, for the first time I was writing about somewhere imaginary, so I was free, as I went along, to invent everything about Afalia. Great fun. I can recommend inventing places. I did draw myself a map to begin with, but it had to shimmy a bit, to accommodate the plot! The Supreme Lie' is set in a fantasy city called Praesto, facing disastrous flooding. The protagonist is a handmaid called Gloria who is forced to impersonate the absent Head of State, Madame Suprema. In terms of social and political protest, this is already gold dust - we have a power divide, an authoritarian government, natural disaster... I was excited just reading the blurb!

Whilst Gloria proves to be a surprisingly adept impersonator and leader she soon realises the dangers for the people of Praesto City and beyond. With her trusty dog, Daisy at her side she and Timor launch an audacious plan to divert the floodwaters and out-manoeuvre Praesto's scheming politicians. Fifteen-year-old Gloria is maid to Afalia's tyrannical Head of State, Madame Suprema. When the country is hit by unprecedented flooding, Madame Suprema runs away, fearing she will be blamed for the crisis. To cover up this cowardly act, Gloria is made to step into Madame Suprema's shoes and is thrust into a world of corrupt and desperate politicians. As Gloria becomes aware of the forces toying with her every move, she must take decisions that could save, or end, thousands of lives - including her own... This is a novel suited to teen readers or even young adults, and is guaranteed to stay with the reader long after they’ve finished it. There are some dark themes and moments in the novel; how do you keep it hopeful, and even funny at times, despite this?McCaughrean always writes remarkable novels...her prose and characterisation, of the good, the bad and the in-between, are a treat." Bravo Geraldine McCaughrean! The pace is as fast as the surging river with brief respite given by Daisy, a golden retriever. Greed, lies and corruption muddy the already murky floodwaters and misinformation jostles for space as circumstances demand action. If you're reading this to a class or sharing it in a book group, there are no shortage of topics for discussion. Flooding events - the likely causes and the need for planning to avert or at least mitigate. Water wars - the diverting and control of water through dams and the inherent effect on different communities. Moral dilemma - the value of lives, sacrificing a few to save many. What happens in a news vacuum? The power of the media, and the need to be able to critically evaluate the news we're fed. Exploitation - of natural resources and people. Greed, lies, corruption! A smorgasbord of discussion topics! And that's before you compare and contrast the two cities - the industrial city of Praesto, and the predominantly agricultural Rose City! Left behind are her husband and maid Gloria. These two will need to work together, conspire and lie to ensure the safety of Afalia and its people. It is ironic reading this when it has been raining a while and our river is flooded, plus with a virus spreading and the mis-handling of that as well as a four-year negotiation fiasco by the Government, I felt a lot of empathy with the people of Praesto as their city slowly is submerged by rising floodwater. This is a thrilling adventure story with plenty of twists and turns, but it also has depth and breadth with an underlying social and political commentary on greed, corruption, manipulation, exploitation and mobs --- and also courage and the willingness to stand up for what is right and true.

The main premise of the story is that their is a disastrous flood that is affecting the country. The Suprema, at the start of the story, takes a train in secret to the north of the country to see what she can do to help, or so she says. As it turns out she has in fact run away from her responsibilities, leaving her husband, the maid and the dog to face the music. Timor, the Suprema's husband, decides to hide the fact that his wife has abandoned the city in its hour of need and gets Gloria, the maid to pretend to be the head of state. The Supreme Lie was fun; its continuity and plotting were complicated, but I hope that doesn't show. I enjoyed the company of Timor, Gloria, Clem and the dogs very much. The best thing an author can say for a book is that they didn't want to write "The End", and I didn't. Bestselling author Alexandra Christo, author of TikTok sensation To Kill a Kingdom, introduces her new book, The Night Hunt (Hot Key Books), a dark...A few of the names in the book do somewhat signify things, though. Kovet covets power. Timor's surname - Philotapantasol - means 'lover of peace'. Ap(p)is means ‘bee'; Praesto means 'pride'; Afalia sounds like ... well, try saying it out loud.

The country of Afalia has been hit by relentless rain leading to dangerous flooding. Gloria is a 15 year old maid to Madame Suprema, the secretive and dictatorial ruler of Afalia; she lives in the capital city Praesto and her only real friends are Daisy the dog, and Higgy, who works in a factory. When Madame Suprema runs away from the crisis, her husband world-weary husband Timor has to cover up her disappearance – and asks Gloria to pretend to be Madame Suprema. Much hilarity is the result, but with dark undercurrents of corruption, desperation, and most of all lies – which are supported and encouraged by the newspaper ‘The Voice’. Hugely enjoyable, another triumph from Geraldine McCaughrean. (Reading an interview with Geraldine McCaughrean, she mentions a natural disaster that was the seed for The Supreme Lie; The 1928 flood of the Mississippi Basin. Well that piqued my interest! Be sure to enter that in your search engine, it's an absorbing read.) I adore fish out of water situations. Not only does Gloria have to impersonate someone else, but she has the fate of her country in her hands and shady politics to deal with. The antithesis of her small town roots with the powerful woman she must portray is depicted quite well. The evolution of the character and her eyes opening to 'how the world really works' is done quite well too. Her 'simple' questions spark your pondering of societal issues and how life should be. So, I suppose my main theme is how disaster brings out the best and worst in people, as well as altering their lives for ever. Commenting on the situation of there being haves and have-nots and the glaring differences between them. The 'powerful" and the 'powerless'. How we wield power says a lot about our character, what kind of people we are. How a crisis can bring out the best or the worst in people. How resilient people can be.

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Author Anna Kemp introduces The Hollow Hills, the sequel to her dark magical tale, Into Goblyn Wood. A great piece of writing, and oddly realistic. It made me wonder what extreme conditions can be brought about by natural disasters. I also loved the language." Geraldine McCaughrean is a double Carnegie Medal winner for a good reason – the vivid similes, metaphors and thought provoking lines bring her fantasy country to convincing life. The twists and turns of the plot will keep you reading, eager to see what will happen next. I’m still annoyed with myself that I failed to spot a clue hidden in plain sight. Fifteen-year-old Gloria is maid to Afalia's tyrannical Head of State, Madame Suprema. When the country is hit by unprecedented flooding, Madame Suprema runs away, fearing she will be blamed for the crisis. To cover up this cowardly act, Gloria is made to step into Madame Suprema's shoes and is thrust into a world of corrupt and desperate politicians. As Gloria becomes aware of the forces toying with her every move, she must take decisions that could save, or end, thousands of lives - including her own... A brilliant and darkly funny commentary on our present times. When flooding devastates Afalia and its capital Praesto City is forced to barricade itself behind floodgates, cowardly leader, Madame Suprema, escapes on one of the last trains heading North. Left behind and powerless, her downtrodden husband, Timor is forced into action. With Timor's help, lowly maid Gloria reluctantly steps into Madame Suprema's shoes and soon enters a corrupt and dangerous political world.