I wanted to write a fun adventure that also talked about themes surrounding the environment, STEM and the power of friendship.

So here are some of the non-human characters that I’ve fallen in love with, and that have influenced my writing over the years: Being able to share whole worlds with readers. I’ll never get tired of people saying they liked a certain character, or wished they could taste a certain food, or that quote certain lines from the book that they liked. I just think… Wow, I made that up, this is crazy! How would you envisage teachers using your book in their classrooms? What age group is it aimed at? Do any activities or ideas spring to mind?

About the book

The book also contains some heavy world building, so maybe getting readers to visualise things like Boxville and Glass City and the Sphereships would be great (I would also love to see what they come up with!). Despite being a complete layman, she still has an unwavering passion for space, and loves nothing more than sharing that passion through her stories and author events. Ok, I’m going to talk about my IDEAL day. If I have a deadline approaching my day is basically just tapping away at the keyboard until my fingers hurt and making a million coffees, which is boring to hear about. But my ideal writing days are like this: I used to listen to a lot of audiobooks when I was younger, and one of my favourites was The Chronicles of Narnia. I loved the world behind the wardrobe, but most of all I loved Aslan. He had a stern fatherly quality to me, and I always wanted to bury my head in his mane the way Lucy did. What better creature to have looking over you than a lion? Gemma Fowler’s world-building is exceptional, and her version of Earth has echoes of Blade Runner, Wall-E and Star Wars. A thrilling galactic mystery with a powerful message at its heart about caring for the planet we call home.” Book Trust, Best new books for April

Fowler creates an unusual scenario that is a thrilling mix of steampunk with The Hunger Games , Wall-E , and Star Wars . The plot might be another teens-in-a-race-against-time affair, but the author delivers twists and turns that keep the action fresh and exciting. As the setting of this novel is fantastical, some young readers may benefit from guided visualisation to help them live out the action in the story. For example, how would you draw the container city of Boxville? What would the city look like if you were to walk along its streets? What might the people look like who live here – what jobs would they have and how might they dress? The Primary School Library Alliance is calling on the government to match-fund the private investment it has brought into helping primary schools c... An edge-of-your-seat thriller, combining an authentic YA contemporary voice with high-concept but accessible science fiction. Buy here!Firstly, welcome to The Reading Realm! I wondered if we could start with you introducing yourself and telling us about City of Rust? As a fan of sci fi, many AI characters have influenced me over the years, from Marvin the Paranoid Android in Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, to the sinister HAL in 2001: A Space Odyssey, but it’s the benevolent Thunderhead that stays with me. Thank you so much Gemma for your brilliant piece – Scythe is one of my favourite trilogies so I particularly loved seeing the influence of Thunderhead, and there’s lots of other memorable characters mentioned too! I love the creativity of bringing character to something unexpected like an inanimate object. These characters might not always have the best lines (because a lot of them don’t talk) but they nearly always steal the show. Boxville is built of scrap metal and trash that hasn’t made it up into the Soup. It is a warren of rust and darkness - a junkyard home to the poor and forgotten. Glass City is all gleaming metal and glass, and the rich inhabitants make sure their junk doesn’t interfere with their comfortable lives.