"If Not Us" by Mark Smith follows the journey of two teenagers, Josie and her ex-best friend Isaac, as they navigate a world ravaged by a devastating pandemic. Set in a near-future Australia, they must confront the collapse of society, their own haunted pasts, and the emotional turmoil that arises from their broken friendship. Together, they embark on a perilous journey to find hope and connection in a shattered landscape, facing moral dilemmas and the question of what it means to truly choose love and resilience in the face of overwhelming darkness. [Generated by language model - please report any problems].

This book is the winner of numerous awards

This book has been graded for interest at 13 years.

There are 272 pages in this book.

It is aimed at Young Adult readers. The term Young Adult (YA) is used for books which have the following characteristics: (1) aimed at ages 12-18 years, US grades 7-12, UK school years 8-15, (2) around 50-75k words long, (3) main character is aged 12-18 years, (4) topics include self-reflection, internal conflict vs external, analyzing life and its meaning, (5) point of view is often in the first person, and (6) swearing, violence, romance and sexuality are allowed.

This book was published in 2021 by Text Publishing .

Mark A. Smith was born in Dundee, where he works as a primary school teacher. He lives in Fife and spends most of his spare time reading comics and writing stories. He is highly competitive but has yet to find a sport he's actually good at. Slugboy Saves the World is his first novel. Darren Gate is the 2016 winner of the Kelpies Design and Illustration Prize. He is an illustrator and graphic designer based in Glasgow.