Book list
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What was supposed to be a lighthearted family vacation to their cottage in the woods turns into a years-long nightmare. When Xavier; his father, Caleb; and pregnant stepmom, Nia become unexpectedly trapped under a dome, at first, they attempt to escape. Three years later, Xavier is still mourning the absence of the family members he left behind while still reconciling his feelings about Noah, his brother who has never known anything but the dome. The prevailing theory is aliens—that the dome is an experiment, and they’re the test subjects. When a family with staunchly different beliefs from the Oaks is dropped into the dome, complete with their own facsimile of a hunting lodge, the Oaks are optimistically cautious. At first, the Jacksons seem friendly enough, and their oldest daughter, Mackenzie, is certainly of interest to Xavier. But as tensions among the adults come to a head, it calls into question loyalty, beliefs, and what the idea of freedom really is. This fast-paced survival thriller is a timely work that calls reality into question.

Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

The discovery that he’s been cut off from the world beneath an invisible, impenetrable dome leads a Canadian teen into daunting challenges. When a planned weekend turns to years of isolation at their country cottage for white-presenting Xavier Oak, his dad, and his stepmom Nia, who’s Haitian Canadian, the family must shift its efforts from futile bids for escape to simple survival. Receiving miraculous help with the difficult birth of Xavier’s half brother seems to prove that they were abducted by aliens. Three years on, they suddenly acquire new neighbors: the Jacksons from Tennessee, who are implied white. Husband Riley is a full-bore conspiracy theorist, who rants about “reptilian bloodlines” and a covert plot that’s reminiscent of the great replacement theory. He’s hellbent on escaping, sure that the government is secretly behind their predicament. Xavier, now 16, is half convinced that Riley is right, though his own judgment may be impaired by the blinding tides of adolescent hormones that rise when he meets Riley’s dazzling teenage daughter, Mackenzie. Oppel eventually hints at the truth, but until then he leaves readers to sift the evidence through their own social and political convictions. The plot heats up when the mysterious overseers are revealed along with a terrifying secret, and cultural frictions mount between the two families. Although Riley’s portrayal feels somewhat lacking in nuance, the choice Xavier ultimately must make is understandably agonizing—and, in the end, justified. An idyllic scenario turns increasingly creepy in this slightly message-heavy story.(Thriller. 13-18) Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Horn Book
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

One morning, Xavier Oak and his family wake up to find that their weekend lakeside cottage has been moved, with them in it, to a farm without explanation. They eventually determine that they're trapped within a dome and surmise that they've been abducted by aliens. Three years pass, and their wariness of the situation has slowly given way to acceptance. Then another family arrives, including a possible love interest for the now-sixteen-year-old Xavier as well as a volatile, reactionary government-conspiracy-theorist father whose plans for escape threaten to upset the precarious balance the Oaks have attained. Questions -- some voiced by the characters, others likely to occur to readers -- add to the suspense and uncertainty. Why are they there? Where are they? Who are the captors who seem willing to provide for them? Is their original home, which is experiencing an escalated climate emergency, a future version of the Earth we know? Or is there a reason the Oaks have started following the example of little Noah, born just after they arrived, and calling it "Erf"? The novel doesn't offer many conclusive answers, but amid the slowly building tension there's plenty of room for intriguing speculation beyond the limited perspective that Xavier's first-person narration provides. (c) Copyright 2025. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publishers Weekly
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Thirteen-year-old Xavier “Zay” Oak is on a weekend trip to a vacation cottage outside Montreal with his father and his pregnant stepmother when he notices that everything he thought he knew about the area has changed. The familiar nearby lake is gone, and in its place are a red barn, a pasture filled with goats, a cornfield, and other crops. As Zay and his parents investigate, they realize they’re alone and, further into the countryside, they discover an invisible wall, which seems to be part of a transparent, apparently indestructible dome. Failed attempts to escape the dome lead the trio to instead focus on survival. Three years later, another family appears: Tennessee teenager Mackenzie Jackson, her younger sister, and their parents. Zay is initially thrilled to meet someone his age—especially someone as pretty as Mackenzie—until Mackenzie’s father reveals himself to be a dangerous man with even more terrifying ideals. Oppel (Ghostlight) centers a persistent and intelligent protagonist in this unassuming but riveting novel. Compact yet brimming with tense atmosphere, it’s a sharp examination of society and isolation presented as a thriller set in a deceptively bucolic landscape. All characters cue as white save Zay’s Haitian Canadian stepmother. Ages 12–up. (June)

School Library Journal
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Gr 9 Up—Xavier Oaks, his father, and his very pregnant stepmother are enjoying a weekend at their lake house but wake up to find the lake gone and a farm in its place. Upon exploration, they realize that they're inside a transparent dome made from an impenetrable substance. Fast forward three years, and Xavier, 16, has a healthy brother, Noah, and has become quite the farmer. The Oaks assume (with no solid evidence) that they've been abducted by aliens. They long for home, but are making the best of things, when overnight, a new family arrives. Much to Xavier's excitement, this family includes a beautiful girl his age, Mackenzie, and her little sister, the perfect playmate for Noah. However, this family has a different theory about their abduction, and the father's fervent desire for escape could have grave consequences for the Oaks family. The story delves deeply into politically charged topics, including vaccines, pandemics, gun control, climate change, government conspiracies, and the "great replacement theory." Stereotypes on both sides of the political aisle are deftly explored through these characters, but above all, this is the definition of a page-turner. VERDICT A thought-provoking, uncomfortable thriller that readers won't be able to forget. Highly recommended.—Mandy Laferriere