Book Review: ‘Snowflake’ Succeeds in Using Fiction to Communicate Climate Facts

(BOOK REVIEW) A modern-day climate thriller meets think piece, Snowflake chronicles the journal entries of Ben Wallace, a brilliant high school senior who sees the world beyond his years. Some might say he's an "old soul," while others dismiss him as a bleeding heart vegan liberal due to his progressive views on climate change, eating meat, hunting, factory farming, pollution, species conservation, and overpopulation. As a gifted student who obsessively reads scientific papers, Ben is all too familiar with the present-day attacks on our environment and frequently experiences what he refers to as "obsessive climate spirals"--often triggered by horrifyingly authentic tweets, quotes, and news headlines (i.e. "Humans Speeding Extinction, Altering Natural World at Unprecedented Pace" & "Worldwide, 7 Million People A Year Die from Air Pollution"). Presented with these terrifying truths regarding "climate chaos" and the fate of the world, Ben predicts a looming environmental catastrophe--humanity's imminent self-extinction. -- Global Animal