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Back The Year the Maps Changed Save as PDF
Chapters (75)
  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Dedication
  4. Epigraph
  5. Map
  6. Prologue
  7. 1
  8. 2
  9. 3
  10. 4
  11. 5
  12. 6
  13. 7
  14. 8
  15. 9
  16. 10
  17. 11
  18. 12
  19. 13
  20. 14
  21. 15
  22. 16
  23. 17
  24. 18
  25. 19
  26. 20
  27. 21
  28. 22
  29. 23
  30. 24
  31. 25
  32. 26
  33. 27
  34. 28
  35. 29
  36. 30
  37. 31
  38. 32
  39. 33
  40. 34
  41. 35
  42. 36
  43. 37
  44. 38
  45. 39
  46. 40
  47. 41
  48. 42
  49. 43
  50. 44
  51. 45
  52. 46
  53. 47
  54. 48
  55. 49
  56. 50
  57. 51
  58. 52
  59. 53
  60. 54
  61. 55
  62. 56
  63. 57
  64. 58
  65. 59
  66. 60
  67. 61
  68. 62
  69. 63
  70. 64
  71. 65
  72. 66
  73. Acknowledgments
  74. About the Author
  75. About the Publisher

I turned a little to look at him. “Republic, for sure.”

“How come?”

I tried to raise one of my eyebrows the way Mr. Khouri would, but Sam just laughed at me. “Because I think it’s silly that Australia’s all the way over here, and England’s all the way over there, and we hardly ever see the queen, but she still rules over us.”

We walked and I talked. “And because maybe if we were completely independent, we could go back to calling things what they were meant to be.”

“Like what?” Sam asked.

“Like Uluru instead of Ayers Rock, and Wonga for Arthurs Seat . . . and all the other places that got renamed just because certain people controlled all the maps around here.”

“I never thought of it like that.” Sam nodded and we both looked up ahead to Jed and Aidan, who were trying to trip each other by stepping one foot in front of the other’s leg.

“I like how Mr. Khouri says that lines on a map can’t contain people,” Sam said suddenly. “And maybe people know deep down where they belong—even if they can’t point to it on a bit of paper?”

I looked at him out of the corner of my eye, at his too-big backpack and his unruly curls, just like Anika’s, and the glasses that were always halfway down his nose.

“Hey, Sam?”

“Yeah?”

“You know you’re my brother, right?”

He nearly tripped over his own feet, and I smiled but we walked on.

“Hey, Fred?”

“Yeah?”

“You know Drumlin was too? He was both of ours. . . .”

I didn’t know what to say to that, so instead I threw an arm over Sam’s shoulder and squeezed him to me, fast and hard—then I stuck my leg out in front of him and tried to trip him, holding him up by his backpack strap when I nearly succeeded.

And we laughed so loud that Jed and Aidan turned around to see what we were doing, and they joined in so our laughter became a rumble—like a low growl. And then I realized the growl wasn’t us, but a shuttle bus coming up Main Street.

Our laughter petered out as we saw the logo on the side of the vehicle. It was a haven bus—something we hadn’t seen in weeks. Without saying a word, we all started walking slowly up the hill toward the shops. We watched as two security guards got out.

Women from the haven came out next and went straight into the supermarket, while the two men in their bright-yellow “security” vests hung back and waited for them.

“Why do they need security guards to go shopping?” Sam asked, but none of us had an answer for him—not until he and I got home, and told Luca, Pop, and Anika what we’d seen.