However, Teller is in the throws of a fever and begs for water but it has to be rationed. By the time Tie goes into labour, Mark and Sky are focused on helping her but there are still everyday jobs that need to be done so they fall to Sky. With Tie’s due date approaching and Teller’s infection getting worse Mark and Sky are the only ones who can provide for the others but Mark is cold especially towards Teller refusing him food as he is dying and he sees it as a waste of resources. Mark is often aggressive towards Sky and hits him more than once. In the middle of all this we see the relationship between Sky and Mark as Mark is grieving for Mother and takes his anger out on Sky who doesn’t deserve it while Sky only wants a relationship with his brother. Teller is clinging to the stories told by Green and Song before him and is trying to pass them onto Sky before he dies. Tie doesn’t want to be a mother despite her condition because she has witnesses others before her like Song die in childbirth and fears the same will happen to her. We see everyone grieving in their own way but we also learn that Mark is mooning over Tie who only wants Green back. The dynamic of the group is slowly being broken with the loss of Green and the impending loss of Teller. The premise of this novel was very interesting and it is very quick moving as we are introduced to the group, their dynamics and the death of Green in only a couple of pages. Despite this Mark’s argument are valid as the summer is coming and in this dystopian world that means unbearable heat making water the top priority but Green prioritizes seemingly useless things over the things that mean the difference between life and death. However, Mark fails to realise Sky won’t learn until he is taught and that he is very afraid of Mark especially when he starts to get angry. The youngest of the group Sky is only nine years old and is Mark’s younger brother but Mark hates Sky because he believes that Sky killed Mother and he doesn’t see Sky having a use within the group. Tie is heavily pregnant and Teller is suffering from an infection in his foot which might claim his life.

After Green’s death we can see fractures appearing within the group as only Mark is fit to work now.

This group used to have another member Green who dies in the opening pages, although whether this death is accidental or suicide is unknown. We are introduced to our cast of characters who are Sky, a child coming of age Tie, pregnant and grieving Mark, a young man poised to assume primacy and Teller, an elder, holder of stories.

This book was intriguing to me for several reasons, it features stories within a story and because it is less than 150 pages long.

From the Caves by Thea Prieto