Review: ‘We Don’t Have Time for This’ By Brianna Craft

This novel, ostensibly for young adults, follows a classic story arc: boy meets girl, they dislike each other at first, and later discover that they have more in common than they think. But the narrative takes place in a present-day context of climate action, with the teenagers’ struggles mirroring global climate challenges – in politics, activism, and matters of the heart.

—

The action opens under a literal cloud: the smoke of wildfires in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. The chapters are then narrated alternately by Isa and Darius, students at Lakewood High School, rivals for control of the Environmental Justice Club. Isa is a free spirit from a working-class family, who loves the Samoan dance her father introduced her to, and the food her mother cooks at a local restaurant. Darius is a driven, over-achieving student-athlete who collects Advanced Placement classes for fun and cannot decide between applying to Princeton or UCLA.

As co-presidents, the two clash over the mission of their club: should they focus on holding a Model COP in the style of a Model UN, providing a few high-performing students with an experience to put on their college applications (as the incumbent club leader Darius would prefer), or should they take Isa’s advice and engage the greater student population to tackle a local issue? Naturally, the real antagonist of the story is not Darius with his elitist ideas, but an amoral company behind the plan to install a new natural gas pipeline at the port.

If this sounds a lot like the daily conversations climate activists engage in, it is meant to. Everywhere in the book, core themes arise that reflect the decisions of the real-life climate community: local versus global action; which topic to prioritize (go vegan or target fossil fuel producers?); take immediate steps or prepare yourself to tackle the future; and, of course, mitigation or adaptation?

The frustrations of the characters ring true as they tackle these issues. At a low moment, Isa bursts out, “We’re stuck under this fucking immovable heat dome, and instead of getting everyone to talk about how we live in a world where we can’t buy food and have to worry about our homes going up in flames, all we can think to do about it is practice making speeches at a fake UN?!” With the possible omission of the word “fake”, it is a cri-de-coeur that could be heard at any climate conference. A later scene at a public hearing, where the hopeful teenage protagonists are steamrolled by the local political machine, also pulls no punches, and sounds distressingly familiar. Likewise, the somewhat inconclusive finale is an accurate picture of the state of the world today – despite local success we do not yet know whether our efforts will succeed. The good news is that, while working together toward their common goal, Darius and Isa find romance.

However, this book is not written (exclusively) for adults, but for the teenagers who will grow up in an overheated world. Does it work for them? Two young climate activists consulted for the purpose of this review did enjoy the book, but had thoughts about how it could have been better.

“What really worked for us is how the story shows climate change as something real and personal, not just stories we hear on the news, but stuff that actually affects daily life,” Dhaanya and Reaha Ganeriwal of MyGreenMantra told Earth.Org. “Isa and Darius come across like real teenagers doing their best to figure out how to make a difference. The book also does a great job showing local climate issues like wildfires and the gas pipeline.” 

However, the teens wondered whether the book would succeed in inspiring action. “We think the book could do more to make climate action feel cooler and more relatable. Sometimes the book’s activism moments feel serious or stressful, and adding more fun or funny moments or showing characters getting recognized could inspire more readers to jump in,” they said.

While the action in the book generally feels authentic, both this reviewer and the teens wondered at the relative absence of digital communications. “We all spend a lot of time online talking and sharing, and showing this gap between online chats and real-life talks would make the story feel more current and true to how Gen Z and Gen Alpha connect with friends and causes.” Is the story perhaps set in a near future, when a social media ban has been successfully enacted?

One delightful aspect of We Don’t Have Time for This is the casually diverse world of Lakewood High School. Stereotypes are neither embraced nor self-consciously ruptured; the characters simply exist as themselves within a community that includes Americans of a vast array of backgrounds. 

Despite a rather conventional storyline offering few surprises, the novel gives a rare picture of the climate crisis from the point of view of those most affected by it. As the teen readers pointed out, “We really appreciate how the book shows climate change through the eyes of people like us, kids who are going to live through these changes and want to do something about it.”

We Don’t Have Time for This
Brianna Craft
2024, Hyperion, 272pp

—

Check out more Earth.Org book and film reviews here.