Very interesting book. With all the fires and other natural disasters in the world in recent years, one has to wonder if we are nearing a real version of the Crisis.

This novel was very close to being very good. Unfortunately, I found two of the main characters and one big plot line to be almost insufferable. I absolutely loved this book up until around page 180. Not a fan of the pseudo-action thriller there. Reading about the Crisis and titular Great Transition was amazing. I loved the world the author created, and it felt so rich and real. But then it devolves. Although I hated Emi, I can’t help but wonder if it’s because she’s such a good character — teenagers are, indeed, stupid and annoying. It also feels like reading a long Reddit AITA post for a while. (Yes, I hate the mom btw.) The ending is nice. I can’t help but wish we’d gotten to read more about the Furies and their plots post-Transition instead of a small family’s drama and tracking Emi through NYC. I honestly wish she’d died.

One other big critique I have is the whole ED plot line. It didn’t serve much of anything and felt like something I’d read on thinspo tumblr. Luckily, I didn’t get triggered by this, but I can imagine some people might. I guess it was meant to add depth to Emi or something? But I can’t think of why an ED would be the best way to do that.

I also want to shout out LARCH. I loved reading about this character and all of his chapters regarding his past were amazing. Highlight of the book.

I got this as an advanced readers edition by mistake from Simon & Schuster. Probably wouldn’t have picked it up otherwise, so I’m very glad I did. Overall, I think this is an amazing debut novel and will recommend it to pretty much anyone who asks. Slay, Mr. Googins.

3.5 stars

An interesting story, if somewhat sophomoric in style and tone.

The near future climate fiction genre has become fairly rich of late, with a lot of excellent entries and very high quality writing out there. I liked some of the ideas in The Great Transition, and particularly some of the background stories of the actual transition time, but overall this did not have the substantial and complex feel of books like [b:The Deluge|60806778|The Deluge|Stephen Markley|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1671054157l/60806778._SX50_.jpg|95887110], [b:Termination Shock|58605539|Termination Shock|Neal Stephenson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1637082315l/58605539._SY75_.jpg|86058479], and [b:The Light Pirate|60468332|The Light Pirate|Lily Brooks-Dalton|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1663783151l/60468332._SY75_.jpg|89407111].

Read if you enjoy this genre, knowing that it’s not quite as satisfying as others out there.

At the beginning, I really enjoyed this book. The premise, a climate crisis and climate criminals, was great and way too accurate. But then it got a bit boring and soon I realized that I actively disliked the characters.
The girl was a whiny brat. I know many 15 year old kids are, but it isn't necessarily enjoyable to read about. Her eating disorder seemed out of place in this book. It was never fully explored yet took up way too much space.
The mom was entirely unlikeable. There is no way that she did not know exactly what would happen as a result of her actions and she should have taken care to protect her family. Ridiculous.
The climate crisis parts were great and truly important, I just wish they hadn't been drowned out by the other boring/ridiculous/unlikeable parts.