Into the Dying Forest

'I didn't stuff up the world. Other people did. Gutless politicians. Greedy corporations. Billionaires. People who didn't care enough. They needed to find a scapegoat, so they blamed old people.'

In a near-future Australia ravaged by environmental disaster, water and other resources are scarce, and society is heavily controlled. Struggling to survive, 16-year-old Raz and his twin sister Lu decide to escape from one of Melbourne's brutal shipping-container camps.

Grabbing a ride from the outspoken fossil Gail, who's on the run from enforced euthanasia—they head towards West Gippsland and the Dying Forest. But danger lurks everywhere, government spy drones patrol the skies and Raz does not trust Gail.

As they hurtle toward their unknown destination, Raz's suspicion about Gail intensifies. Where is she going and why won't she tell him and Lu? 'It's a secret, and that's the way it's going to stay,' Gail says. After she disappears into the forest with Lola, a member of a motor bike gang, the twins are left stranded. Who can they trust in this new environment or is trust a luxury? The twins' courage and ingenuity will be tested as they make unlikely alliances to combat a fearsome enemy, but will their relationship survive as their paths begin to diverge?

A gripping dystopian thriller, Into the Dying Forest by J K Bruce is a testament to the resilience of family bonds and the power of hope in a world on the brink, inviting readers to look beyond stereotypes and see the humanity in all of us.