They’re known as Firestarters. Boomers. Skychangers. The government calls them Illegals — children with inexplicable abilities — and detains them in menacing facilities so that society is kept out of harm’s way. Ashala Wolf and her Tribe of fellow Illegals have taken refuge in the Firstwood, a forest eerily conscious of its inhabitants, where they do their best to survive and where they are free to practice their abilities. But when Ashala is compelled to venture outside her territory, she is betrayed by a friend and captured by an enemy. Injured and vulnerable, with her own Sleepwalker ability blocked, Ashala is forced to succumb to a machine that will pull secrets from her mind. It’s only a matter of time before the machine ferrets out the location of the Tribe. Her betrayer, Justin Connor, is ever-present, saving her life when she wishes to die and watching her every move. Will the Tribe survive the interrogation of Ashala Wolf?
Penguin Random House
“I walk among my enemies. But I carry my friends with me.”
“You can't transform a society for the better with violence, Ashala. Only with ideas.”
“Death is a great transformation. But it is not an end.”
“Ember had told me once that she'd known a girl who wanted to die until someone had spoken six words to her that made her decide to live instead. I'd asked what the magic words were, and she said it didn't matter; the point was that no one ever knows when something they say will cause a profound change in somebody else.”
“I bared my teeth at him. “There will come a day when a thousand Illegals descend on your detention centres. Boomers will breach the walls. Skychangers will send lightning to strike you all down from above, and Rumblers will open the earth to swallow you up from below. There will be nowhere to hide, nowhere to run, and no way to stop them from freeing every single Illegal in this centre. And when that day comes, Justin Connor, think of me.”
“It [advanced technology] had isolated the people of the old world from nature, shielding them from the consequences of imbalance, and yet they’d believed, right up until the very end, that it would save them. But…advances in technology could never compensate for failures in empathy.”
“It isn't going to be people like me that will cause the end of the world, Neville. It'll be people like you.”
“I stared up at the tuarts that towered over all the other plant life of the forest. They were so tall I could barely make out the tops, and so wide that Georgie and I would've had to join hands with about ten other people to circle the trunks.”
“...the point was that no one ever knows when something they say will cause a profound change in somebody else”
goodreads.com
The Disappearance of Ember Crow by 
The Foretelling of Georgie Spider by 
Catching Teller Crow by 
Living on Stolen Land by 
Ambelin Kwaymullina is an Aboriginal writer, illustrator and law academic. She comes from the Palyku people of the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Ambelin works across a range of storytelling forms including non-fiction, young adult novels and children’s picture books.
Ambelin's work has been published in the United Kingdom, Russia, Spain, France, China, South Korea and the United States. Awards and recognition for her work including winning the Victorian Premier's Literary Award and the Aurealis Award; and twice being recognised on the international 'White Ravens' list.
The indigenous Australian author draws from a vast, rich cultural tapestry that will be new to many readers. If an “exhilarating dystopia” strikes you as oxymoronic, this vivid, original debut just might change your mind.
—Kirkus Reviews
The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf begins like most dystopian novels, but it does not take long for Kwaymullina to take the reader on a very different journey. As
This genre-blending story will satisfy a wide range of readers. … The multilayered story will keep teens guessing until the end. … The author draws upon aboriginal Australian creation stories to bring much needed diversity to the genre.
—Booklist
With plenty of plot twists, ever-present danger, and powerful children, this book is sure to attract readers. … This is an excellent addition to dystopian literature with grounds for discussion on spiritual, ecological, political, and personal responsibility.
—Library Media Connection
the layers of Ashala’s memories are pulled back, the reader is treated to an intense thriller that just happens to take place in a dystopian society. Though it is the first in a series, the novel reads like a stand-alone, tying up enough loose ends to satisfy the reader while still leaving them wanting more.
—VOYA
Ashala narrates her story with an earnest adolescent voice… This futuristic fantasy offers an admirable heroine and a thought-provoking situation.
—The Horn Book
This genre-blending story will satisfy a wide range of readers. … The multilayered story will keep teens guessing until the end. … The author draws upon aboriginal Australian creation stories to bring much needed diversity to the genre.
—Booklist
With plenty of plot twists, ever-present danger, and powerful children, this book is sure to attract readers. … This is an excellent addition to dystopian literature with grounds for discussion on spiritual, ecological, political, and personal responsibility.
—Library Media Connection
Evocative, realistic…
—Publishers Weekly
A series of flashbacks slowly unravels the intricate setup, working backwards in a way that imbues Ashala’s current situation with more meaning as the past is revealed, raising the stakes and the tension. … The dystopian world here offers … more nuance than the traditional fare.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
Creative… The world-building is particularly interesting, as the author incorporates elements of the aboriginal creation story of the Dreamtime and Grandfather Serpent into the protagonist’s visions. Give this one to dystopia fans who are looking for a unique perspective.
—School Library Journal
