Things I Learned While I Was Dead – at a glance
The School Reading Lists’ five word review: Futuristic, medical, ethics, family, gripping.
YA book title: Things I Learned While I Was Dead.
YA author: Kathryn Clark.
Genre: Science fiction.
Published by: Faber.
ISBN: 9780571385867.
Recommended for young adults aged: 14+ year-olds.
First published: Paperback July 2025.
This children’s book is ideal for: KS4 & KS5 dystopia fans.
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Our review:
Saving Asha. That’s my religion. That’s my science.
It’s based on hope and love and not giving up. Ever.
The most important thing in the world to seventeen-year-old Calico is saving the life of her beloved younger sister Asha. Years of medical treatments and expert advice haven’t been enough, and Asha is now dying. When the mysterious Dr Fates offers a chance at a miracle cure, Calico jumps at the chance. The only catch is, she – like Asha – has to technically die. Cryogenically frozen, the sisters will be re-awoken when medical advances have developed a cure for Asha.
perhaps
Death
is not the end
of every story
any more
But something goes terribly wrong. Instead of the two years she agreed to, Calico ends up frozen for decades. When she is eventually reanimated, she finds herself in a bleak post-climate catastrophe world, with minimal technology and full of guilt-ridden memories of her last days with Asha.
Trapped in a sinister research facility with no sign of her sister, Calico joins forces with a group of other, often reluctant, cryogenic test subjects. In order to escape, they must work together to unravel the truth about their dangerous new world and discover what has happened to their loved ones.
Things I Learned While I Was Dead is a gripping tale of medical ethics, unintended consequences and family ties. The climate-change aspects and resulting loss of technology give a welcome spin to the usually high-tech future portrayed in most science fiction stories. The short chapters and mix of verse and prose make for a fast-paced and engaging read, with the dual narratives of Calico and Asha providing a closer insight into the lives of these devoted sisters.
A helpful author’s note at the start of the book provides a content warning as the story covers potentially triggering topics, including discussions around mental illness and references to suicide. As Clark herself notes: “Although this story goes to some dark places, it is also full of resilience, love and the hope that humans can, and will, do better.”
Things I Learned While I Was Dead is a thrilling and scarily real dystopian adventure that will appeal to fans of Lauren James’ The Quiet at the End of the World and Gemma Malley’s The Declaration.
- Read a free extract.
Many thanks to Faber for the review copy.
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