Knights Unite, Knights Unite

Check out this new middle-grade adventure series where climate change is the villain!Knights Unite - A Peter Blue series novelRiva du Lac is determined to keep her promise to her dad – no detentions in her first term at Spiral Hall. With just three days left, it seems like smooth sailing. But her plans capsize during a sea cleanup when she discovers Shem, a mythical fish-boy. A surprise honour from the school's Spiral Knights forces Riva to choose between following the rules or saving her new friend. Meanwhile, during a nap in assembly, Riva's classmate Peter Blue has a vision of a garbage-spewing sea beast attacking the knights.With floodwaters rising and time running out, Shem’s secret from the past may be the only hope for Peter, Riva and their friends to save the knights – and themselves.This fast-paced science fantasy thriller is the second stand-alone novel in the Peter Blue series.“Colless has created a kind of Hogwarts that operates on the magic of environmental awareness."— Kirkus ReviewsForeword/Clarion ReviewActivist children at an environmentalist school face challenges to their developing ideals in the busy adventure novelKnights Unite.In Laurel Colless’s splashy mystery novel Knights Unite, precocious children fight to protect the environment fromcorrupt businesses and the destructive powers they wield.While cleaning the depths of the ocean on a routine assignment, Riva and Roly rescue a mysterious merboy, Shem,from a tangle of discarded nets. Meanwhile, back at their environmentalist school, Peter struggles to balance thediplomatic demands of hosting his old friend Devlin, who just become the CEO of the infamous Albacore fishingcompany, with his duty to protect the environment. The novel weaves Riva’s and Peter’s stories and tensions togetherto create an adventure in which young people are challenged to fight for what they believe in without alienating theones they love.Riva is a standout heroine of exceptional complexity. Though introduced as a stereotypical know-it-all overachiever,bossing her way to the top of the classroom and stepping on everyone’s toes along the way, depth is achieved via herfamily background. Her father threatens to pull her out of her strange school and place her in a normal one; her freespiritedmother, who first taught her to care about the environment, makes her uncomfortable because of the former’sperformative outbursts and disregard for social graces. During her adventure, Riva asks herself which of her parentsshe is more like, and her answer evolves as she explores her confusion in depth.Indeed, the book maintains balance in all of its characterizations; its children often remain confused, and there’s nevera sense that the right answers are a deus ex machina away. Instead, each problem has to be solved by remainingstuck on it, often for pages at a time, until the characters have opportunities to find new ways of presenting issues toone other. As a result, every character has plenty of opportunities to act, demonstrating their individual value to theteam. Even minor characters, like Riva’s roommate Tipi, have the chance to solve significant hurdles in ways onlythey could. However, the abundance of conflicts the children face also slows the progress of the book as a whole,even though the brief chapters brim with action. Indeed, for lengthy portions of the novel, Albacore’s pollution andShem’s mystery are rendered secondary to the mundane aspects of school life.Knights Unite is an exciting adventure novel with a strong environmentalist message.AUSTIN MITCHELL (February 11, 2025)