Anya and the Light Above the Ocean – at a glance
The School Reading Lists’ five word review: Found family, betrayal, trust, determination.
Children’s book title: Anya and the Light Above the Ocean.
Children’s author: Amelia Giudici.
Genre: Children’s fiction.
Published by: Andersen Press.
ISBN: 9781839136474.
Recommended for children aged: 10-12.
First published: Paperback February 2026.
This children’s book is ideal for: Introducing science fiction to 10-12-year-olds, especially futuristic ideas and the positive and negative results that could result from them.
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Our review:
Anya’s mum is a scientist who works for Janus, a large and secretive organisation. When she disappears one night, Anya goes to look for her, but instead finds a bright white light over the ocean, which she touches, and then everything changes! Sent to live with a couple she doesn’t know, all Anya wants is to find her mum, but instead she is forbidden to leave the house, not even to just sit in the garden!
Anya’s mum is a scientist who works for Janus, a large and secretive organisation. When she disappears one night, Anya goes to look for her, but instead finds a bright white light over the ocean, which she touches, and then everything changes! After spending time in hospital, she returns home, still weak but glad to be with her mum’s best friend, Imani.
Confused? Actually, you shouldn’t be, the two stories work well together and the different points of view give the story a unique feel. Gradually, the storylines merge, but with Anya’s mum still missing, her boss desperate to keep his organisation secret, and no one sure who they can trust, one thing is certain: the danger is still increasing.
Our verdict:
Anya and the Light Above the Ocean is a cleverly worked story which could have been complicated or confusing but actually isn’t. The two Anyas are both written in the first person but as their lives are, to begin with, totally different the reader should be completely engrossed by the time the storylines merge.
In many ways it is the adults who are pivotal to this story. Imani, who is looking after one girl, is the catalyst for changes which see the storylines move closer together. The scientific part of this is, hopefully, fiction with very little fact involved! It is, however, written in such a way that it seems quite plausible, to the scientists at least, and the morals of what they are doing are viewed in quite different ways by each of the main adult characters.
A gentle introduction to middle-grade science fiction, Anya and the Light Above the Ocean still asks some interesting questions and is definitely written in such a way as to make you think about the morality of such experiments.
Teaching points and book club discussion ideas:
- Writing about two main protagonists who are the same person could be very confusing. How did the author prevent this from happening?
- The scientists mention a few reasons why they think making duplicates is a good idea. Can you think of any others? What would the negatives be?
- There are the beginnings of discrimination emerging here when the ‘duplicate’ isn’t considered a real child. What sort of things does Anya do to make her guardians dispute this?
- When Anya can’t reach the bright light in time to return to her parallel universe, the two mums travel to join her. Can you imagine knowing a family where the mums and daughters are identical? Do you think anyone would ever guess they were the same people?
- Now they are two people, Annie and Ana will make their own memories and experience different things. Do you think they will find it difficult not to have all the same memories always?
- This is the author’s first published children’s book. How do you think she, or any author, feels when they know their book is about to be read by lots of people who could either love or hate it?
Many thanks to Andersen Press for the review copy.
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