Saving Celeste

A dying girl. A sick planet. One last hope to survive.

The world is run by !ndustry and the only thing that matters is to buy, buy, buy. People live in crowded cities where cars are stacked vertically and people traverse through corridors and shopping centres that run miles into the sky. Celeste lives in Tower 330 barely visible in the immense city, shrouded by a fog of fumes. On the day she starts school on the 110th floor of a tower block, she meets a lonely, young boy. The next day she doesn't return. Her blood has become as polluted as the seas and rivers. Her lungs as contaminated as the city. On a mission to save her, the boy battles the forces of !ndustry and, with help of his best friend Briss, takes her far, far away. Will the world realise the truth of Celeste’s disease? Will there be time for her, and the planet, to recover?

About the Authors

Timothée de Fombelle is a much-admired French playwright, as well as the author of award-winning fiction. His first series, Toby Alone and Toby Alone and the Secrets of the Tree has been printed in 27 languages and has won numerous awards including France’s prestigious Prix Sorcières and the Marsh Award. Timothee's adventure series, Vango, Book One: Between Sky and Earth and Vango, Book Two: A Prince Without a Kingdom received huge critical acclaim, and book one was granted an English Pen Award for translation. Timothee's beautiful story, Captain Rosalie, was first featured in the acclaimed collection The Great War: an Anthology of Stories Inspired by Objects from the First World War. Timothée lives in Paris.

Sarah Ardizzone is a translator, critic and journalist who has published nearly 40 translations for adults and children. She has won several awards including the Scott-Moncrieff Prize and the Marsh Prize for Children's Literature in Translation.