Earthrunner and the War of Water by Simone and Constantine Pakavakis

Review by Irina Dunn

On the eleventh day of Christmas, our reviewer sent to us a review of this exceptional work
by Simone and Constantine Pakavakis.

This is a delightfully entertaining and instructive YA novel written by a father and daughter
team in alternating chapters.

Set in India in 330 BCE, Earthrunner tells the story of the 14-year-old twins Patish and Leeta
from the village of Shaktin and the tests they must face individually to save their village
from the ravages of a war.

The conflict arises after a long period of drought when the neighbouring kingdom, Paurava,
challenges their kingdom, Gandhara, to a battle over the rights to control the waterflow of the
river that separates their people.

The bucolic childhood of the youthful pair is shattered when their King’s soldiers arrive
in Shaktin to conscript boys under 16, including Patish, much to the dismay of the children’s
mother, Lallina Devi, who lost her husband in a previous conflict.

Wishing to do something to protect her much-loved brother and stop the war, Leeta takes off
with a companion to seek advice from the revered Purple Sage.

The chapters describing Patish’s experiences as a soldier are interwoven with those depicting
Leeta’s journey through wild locations to find the Sage.

After facing situations that test their courage, patience, loyalty, endurance, humility and
intelligence, Patish and Leeta are finally confronted by the biggest existential threat to them,
their families and their village when the Pauravan army lines up on the opposite bank in
preparation for battle with Gandhara.

Patish must prepare himself to die fighting for his kingdom, while Leeta, having found the
Purple Sage and enlisted her help, must accompany her and the hundreds of women from
both kingdoms who have come out in a show of support on an anti-war march.

Just as the fighting is about to begin, both armies are astonished by the spectacle of legions of
women following Leeta and the Purple Sage along the dusty riverbed that separates the
opposing sides.

In a miraculous turnaround, the soldiers put down their arms, and the citizens of both kingdoms are reconciled and celebrate, and brother and sister are reunited.

And, as if Nature herself took pity on the mortals below, the heavens open up and pour down
a bounty of rain that restores the flow to the river.

There is a wonderful array of secondary characters, including Patish’s friends, the young
Prince, whom he advises on wrestling, Diipundiji, the respected Elder and Carer of Shaktin,
mother, Lallina Devi, and Leeta’s younger sister, Seera, Anula, Leeta’s perfidious companion
on the journey to find the Purple Sage, not to forget Limpy, the three-legged dog.

The conflict over water rights and control of riverine flows is a familiar problem to
Australians and this work of fiction offers an exciting and enlightened response to this
environmental challenge.

The narrative proceeds at a cracking pace from chapter to chapter and would make terrific
reading for kids from middle school to early teens.

Earthrunner and the War of Water by Simone and Constantine Pakavakis

Glass House Books 2022