Blog Tour: Skyfleet March of the Metabugs

I am so excited to be the next stop on the blog tour for Skyfleet: March of the Metabugs by Victoria Williamson. When I heard about this book, I jumped at the chance to be a part of the blog tour. As a huge fan of futuristic dystopia novels, I’ve never read one that is aimed at the middle grade age group. Keep reading to read my spoiler free review but first here’s some information about the book.

About The Book

Skyfleet: March of the Metabugs by Victoria Williamson
Published By: Tiny Tree Books
Publication Date: October 24, 2024
Genre: Middle Grade – Futuristic / Dystopia
Pages: 198

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Blurb:
When the skies turn deadly, a young heroine must rise from the ashes…

Twelve-year-old Amberley Jain has faced incredible challenges since the crash that took her parents and paralysed her legs. Now, with her best friend Ricardo Lopez about to be sent away and a swarm of mutated insects closing in on the Skyfleet base, the stakes have never been higher. Something monstrous is driving the mutabugs north from the contaminated meteor site known as the Cauldron, and the only plane capable of stopping it – the Firehawk – lies in pieces in the hangar.

Determined to honour her parents’ legacy, Amberley hatches a daring plan. With Ricardo’s help, they stow away on a supply train, trading his most treasured possession for the parts needed to repair the Firehawk. After secret test flights, the legendary jet is ready for action. Now, Amberley and Ricardo must confront the deadly swarm and save their home, discovering their inner strength and the true meaning of friendship along the way.

Skyfleet: March of the Mutabugs is a thrilling tale of adventure and resilience, perfect for middle-grade readers.

~ My Review ~

Middle grade isn’t my go-to age range in books. As a 30-something year old, I’ve been turning more to adult books in recent years. However, I am such a big lover of futuristic and dystopia-like books, I was too curious about how this sort of book would be pitched for a younger audience to pass up the opportunity to review this for the blog tour. I am so glad that I didn’t pass on this one, as despite it being aimed at an audience significantly younger than me, I really enjoyed this book. It was such a fun read.

Skyfleet: March of the Metabugs is set in a futuristic world where radiation and toxic waste has resulted in the existence of ‘metabugs’, mutated insects that prove to be a danger for the people living in the New World. I really liked this concept. It was a serious issues, but an easy enough concept that younger readers would have no problem understanding the seriousness and gravity of the situation. I really enjoyed seeing this serious world done in a relatively fun way. It’s so refreshing from other dystopia novels that I have read and it just made me absolutely fly through this book.

The characters in this book are so much fun to journey through this world with. I especially loved that our main character is in a wheelchair. I always feel with dystopia-like books, it’s always the able bodied characters who thrive and end up going on the world saving adventures. It was so refreshing to see a disabled character front and centre of a book like this. It just made me love the book all the more.

I don’t want to say too much, as I don’t want to spoil anything but honestly this book was just so much fun and I truly enjoyed every moment. I definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good futuristic read, or anyone with young children. It’s a fantastic, fast-paced read that will also inspire so many great conversations. I really enjoyed it, and highly recommend this one.

Buy The Book

Amazon UK | Amazon USA | Amazon Canada

About The Author

Victoria Williamson grew up in Glasgow, Scotland, and has worked as an educator in a number of different countries, including as an English teacher in China, a secondary science teacher in Cameroon, and a teacher trainer in Malawi.

As well as degrees in Physics and Mandarin Chinese, she has completed a Masters degree in Special Needs in Education. In the UK she works as a primary school special needs teacher, working with children with a range of additional support needs including Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Down Syndrome, physical disabilities and behavioural problems.

She is currently working as a full time writer of Middle Grade and YA contemporary fiction, science fiction and fantasy, with a focus on creating diverse characters reflecting the many cultural backgrounds and special needs of the children she has worked with, and building inclusive worlds where all children can see a reflection of themselves in heroic roles.

Victoria’s experiences teaching young children in a school with many families seeking asylum inspired her debut novel, The Fox Girl and the White Gazelle, an uplifting tale of redemption and unlikely friendship between Glaswegian bully Caylin and Syrian refugee Reema.

You can find out more about Victoria’s books, school visits and free resources for schools on her website: www.strangelymagical.com