Un Lun Dun

China Miéville's Un Lun Dun is a sprawling, inventive young adult fantasy that plunges readers into a fantastical, often eerie, parallel version of London. When two twelve-year-old girls, Zanna and Deeba, stumble into this world, a prophecy declares Zanna the hero destined to defeat the malevolent Smog. However, the narrative takes a clever twist when Zanna fails, leaving Deeba, the seemingly ordinary friend, to become the "Unchosen One" and save Un Lun Dun. This 520-page novel is rich with unique characters, a complex plot, and profound themes of destiny, environmentalism, and self-belief. It's ideal for advanced middle-grade readers ready for a challenging, immersive, and thought-provoking adventure. Parents should be aware of some darker elements, including reanimated corpses and perilous situations, but these are handled within the context of a fantastical quest.

What is Un Lun Dun?It is London through the looking glass, an urban Wonderland of strange delights where all the lost and broken things of London end up . . . and some of its lost and broken people, too--including Brokkenbroll, boss of the broken umbrellas; Obaday Fing, a tailor whose head is an enormous pin-cushion, and an empty milk carton called Curdle. Un Lun Dun is a place where words are alive, a jungle lurks behind the door of an ordinary house, carnivorous giraffes stalk the streets, and a dark cloud dreams of burning the world. It is a city awaiting its hero, whose coming was prophesied long ago, set down for all time in the pages of a talking book.When twelve-year-old Zanna and her friend Deeba find a secret entrance leading out of London and into this strange city, it seems that the ancient prophecy is coming true at last. But then things begin to go shockingly wrong.From the Hardcover edition.