Mette Jakobsen, The Snow Laundry, Angus & Robertson, July 2022, 304 pp., RRP $19.90 (pbk), IBSN 9781460762080
The Snow Laundry is not for the faint of heart. This dark and twisted novel paints a bleak picture of a not-too-dissimilar world. Mette Jakobsen explores themes of Government control, brutality, and survival of the fittest but also friendship, teamwork and hope.
In a dystopian world, much like our own and yet entirely different, cities are on lockdown and the homeless youth have been rounded up and forced to do hard labour in the Towers. Children are treated like hardened criminals. Violence is commonplace and the only decent meals they see are prepared by their hand under the watchful eye of a guard for the Administration.
Seventeen-year-old Ally is one of many homeless youths working long and difficult hours. Going through the daily motions and keeping her head down, Ally has accepted her new life. Even this prison is better than the city tunnels she used to live in.
With the approaching birthday of the Towers’ overseer, ONE, tensions are high, and even more guards have appeared, each crueller than the last. One guard in particular should not be there. He CAN’T be. His scarred face is a reminder of a terrible past and Ally knows that she will not survive another day if he remembers who she is, or worse, the guard finds her boyfriend, Bon.
When Bon vanishes, leaving only a badly drawn moth behind, Ally is left confused and afraid. In her desperate search, she uncovers more secrets and deceit from the Administration than she could have imagined. Bon is not the only one she should be worried about. Ally needs answers and fast.
The Snow Laundry is a gripping and disturbing page-turner as dramatic as both the Hunger Games and the Divergent series. This dystopian thriller is recommended for readers fourteen years and older due to the prevalent dark and violent themes including bombing, murder, and attempted sexual assault.
Reviewed by India Boon
