The Boy Who Sold the Volcano

About this book

Iceland, spring 2010. The banks have crashed, the króna is worth half what it was, and on a cold March night a fissure opens on the mountain pass above the Eyjafjöll farms. Sixteen-year-old Ari Snorrason has always hated Hólmur, his family's sheep farm, and the four-in-the-morning life it demands. Now thousands of strangers are driving in to see the lava, and Ari sees money: coffee, viewpoints, and, when the big eruption comes and grey ash buries the valley, little jars of volcano posted around the world. But his family is hiding troubles of its own, and the ash that pays Ari is poisoning the fields. How far will a boy who sells everything go to get away, and who will pay for it?