Imagine crossing Georgia Nicholson (Angus, Thongs, and Full Frontal Snogging) with Miranda (Life as We Knew It). If you did, then you'd get Laura Brown.
It's the year 2015 and the entire world is suffering the effects of global warming, climate change, and rebuilding after The Great Storm. England has decided to be the guinea pig in a new carbon emission limitation scheme, which will later be imposed on the rest of Europe and beyond. Laura Brown is a regular teenage girl living in London. She is the bassist for a punk band, The Dirty Angels, is in love with the boy next door, and needs to find a way to pass her exams. When her family begins to fall apart at the seam because of the strict carbon rationing, Laura quickly learns there are bigger things at stake than a first kiss, a good test score, and a killer bass riff. She learns about civil disobedience, living off the earth, being a parent to her own self-destructing parents, and how to stand up for herself. She also learns that no matter what, family is your home even when everything around you crumbles away.
Although the topic matter of Carbon Diaries, 2o15 is quite serious, the book itself is light. Maybe it's the British slang, but I kept hearing Georgia Nicholson's voice throughout the book in the way that Laura nicknames her teachers, lusts after boys, etc. Still, the author does try to be appropriately serious when it's called for, and mostly succeeds. While it isn't a fine piece of literature, teens will most likely enjoy this book, and it's a less depressing option for teens who want to read futuristic books like these.
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