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From award-winning author Shivaun Plozza comes this moving coming-of-age story about family, picking your battles and the transformative power of science.
When crop circles appear in Tully, North Queensland, twelve-year-old Dell knows it's a hoax. She's a future climate scientist who believes in facts, not science fiction. But Dell's estranged mum is an extraterrestrial fanatic. She blusters back into town armed with alien conspiracy theories and a dazzling smile.
If Dell can prove the crop circle is fake, surely her mum will hightail it out of Tully again, preferably before she causes Dell's dad and three sisters further heartbreak. But as her mother's claims grow more out of this world and alien fever takes over the country, Dell worries she's fighting a lost cause. How can she convince anyone of the truth when they're all so desperate to believe a lie?
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Format
Paperback
Publisher
University of Queensland Press
Country
Australia
Date
28 April 2026
Pages
256
ISBN
9780702271045
From award-winning author Shivaun Plozza comes this moving coming-of-age story about family, picking your battles and the transformative power of science.
When crop circles appear in Tully, North Queensland, twelve-year-old Dell knows it's a hoax. She's a future climate scientist who believes in facts, not science fiction. But Dell's estranged mum is an extraterrestrial fanatic. She blusters back into town armed with alien conspiracy theories and a dazzling smile.
If Dell can prove the crop circle is fake, surely her mum will hightail it out of Tully again, preferably before she causes Dell's dad and three sisters further heartbreak. But as her mother's claims grow more out of this world and alien fever takes over the country, Dell worries she's fighting a lost cause. How can she convince anyone of the truth when they're all so desperate to believe a lie?
When crop circles appear in Dell’s hometown of Tully, what she doesn’t expect is that her mother, who left suddenly five years earlier, will turn up. Dell is a budding scientist who has made her own weather station and her best friend Teddy is dedicated to frog research. But her mother is a self-proclaimed UFOlogist, convinced that the crop circles were created by aliens whose arrival in Tully is imminent. Quentin, a fellow UFOlogist, employs the language of pseudoscience and soon half the town is convinced aliens are coming.
Dell lives with her dad and three sisters, and the sudden reappearance of their mother – who they have missed dreadfully, yet become used to not having around – is tumultuous for all of them. Even more hurtful to Dell is the fact that her mother’s return was not to see her family, but to investigate the crop circles. The tentative reunion teeters on the brink as old wounds are left unhealed and new wounds are opened.
At the heart of the book are complicated relationships between Dell and those around her: her sisters, her parents, and her peers. Meanwhile, the clash between science and pseudoscience plays out in the community, between those who are waiting for the aliens’ arrival and those who scoff at the mere suggestion.
This book is a deftly crafted and engaging read that shows how misunderstanding and differences can unfold in everyday life and divide a community. But it is also a book about caring for each other: supporting your friends, loving your family and doing what you think is right. A recurring theme is picking which battles to fight and knowing which battles aren’t yours to take on. Dell, who is feisty, passionate and intelligent, is a wonderful main character to steer the story. Highly recommended for ages 11+.
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