‘Am Samstag gehen die Mädchen in den Wald und jagen Sachen in die Luft’ by Fiona Sironic

Anything not saved will be lost.

‘Am Samstag gehen die Mädchen in den Wald und jagen Sachen in die Luft’ (~ on Saturday, the girls go into the forest and blow things up) by Fiona Sironic is a dystopian novel set in a nearby, but undetermined, future where the world is dying. Climate change has raised temperatures to nearly unbearable levels. Vegetables, fruits, and other fresh produce are luxuries for the super-rich. Entire species are becoming extinct. Most families decide against having children—too expensive, too dangerous.

At the center of the story is Era. While almost everything in this world happens digitally, she makes notes on actual paper, draws birds, and records every extinct species after its death. Her mom researches influencers and works from home. Her second parental figure is her aunt, who has tried to resist—and still does—the system that destroys the planet.

Via a live stream, Era observes two masked girls around her age blowing up things in the woods not far from her and her mom’s tiny house. She knows the girls: they are attending the same school. Maja and Merle. They are the children of two momfluencers. At some point, a few years before the story begins, Maja protested her appearances on her moms’ channels; soon, her younger sister followed.

When Era realizes that Maja and Merle must be close to her home, she tries to observe them in real life. She is discovered—and gets drawn into Maja and Merle’s world. A world where personal rights are everything and must be protected. At all costs.

CW: toxic relationships, ecological collapse, existential dread, social media surveillance