The Unnatural Creature Extermination Project by Angela Zhang
2025 finalist: Grades 7 to 9 category
The Unnatural Creature Extermination Project by Angela Zhang is a finalist in the 2025 First Page student writing challenge in the Grades 7 to 9 category.
Students across Canada wrote the first page of a novel set 150 years in the future, imagining how a current-day trend or issue has played out. About 1,000 students submitted their stories.
The shortlist was selected by a team of expert CBC readers. The winners will be selected by YA writer S.K. Ali and be announced on June 12.
Dobson, 12, a student at St. John Henry Newman in Calgary, writes about water contamination that causes mutation.
Kyria's breath misted in the frigid air, her eyes narrowing as she peered into the distant fog—the sound of a faint, animalistic growling carried over the glacial terrain, causing her to tense.
She took a cautious step back, the snow crunching softly underfoot. Her gloved hand tightened around the worn stock of her rifle, drawing a quiet breath as she slid her thumb over the hammer, pulling it back with a soft click. In a swift movement, Kryia shouldered the firearm, her finger hovering over the trigger as she scanned the area for her target.
T-34, a class A threat — or in other words, a mutated polar bear. The U.C.E (unnatural creature extermination) had been more than meticulous when it came to describing the physical details of the mutations — and even so, it was hard not to spot a creature so large and covered in blood.
The bear lowered its head again, its focus returning to tearing up what appeared to be the carcass of an animal — She supposed that's where the blood came from.
Kyria steadied her hold on the rifle, aiming for the creature's neck, her finger closed on the trigger. A sharp blast of blue light shot out of the barrel, cutting through the fog as it pierced the bear's side. It collapsed without a sound as blood poured out from the side of its head.
It started after World War Three.
America had so much nuclear waste that they just decided to dump it in the ocean. You can imagine how that turned out, water sources were contaminated and almost all the animals that lived or drank the contaminated water had the toxins infused into their DNA—causing them to mutate—and eventually go savage.
She lowered the weapon, catching glimpses of her own Short, dark curls out of the corner of her eyes.
"Now that's just cruel." A familiar voice drawled from her side, so familiar that Kryia didn't bother to look.
"When did you get here?" She retorted dryly.
"Not long ago, There's only so much time before I get bored," Amias mused causally. Kyria's eye twitched.
"So you left the junior team to fend for themselves? You're supposed to be looking after them!" She hissed, finally turning around to fix him with a withering glare.
Amias feigned innocence, "Isn't it more interesting to look after you?"
That's how he always was. Irresponsible. Kyria hated that about him.
About The First Page student writing challenge
CBC Books asked students to give us a glimpse of the great Canadian novel of the year 2175. They wrote the first page of a book set 150 years in the future, with the protagonist facing an issue that's topical today and set the scene for how it's all playing out in a century and a half.
Two winning entries — one from the Grades 7 to 9 category and one from the Grades 10 to 12 category — will be chosen by bestselling YA author S.K. Ali.
Her books include the YA novels Saints and Misfits, Love from A to Z and Love from Mecca to Medina. She has also ventured into children's books with her picture book The Proudest Blue and the middle-grade anthology she co-edited, Once Upon an Eid which won the Middle East Book Honor Award in 2020.
Her latest novel explores a different genre to everything she has done before — dystopian science fiction. In Fledgling: The Keeper's Records of Revolution, the first of a YA duology, two Earths are on the brink of self destruction.
Winners will receive...
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A one-year subscription to OwlCrate, which sends fresh boxes of books to young readers across Canada on a monthly basis.
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50 free YA books for their school library
You can read the complete rules and regulations here.
Last year's winners were Toronto's Anya Thadani in the Grades 7 to 9 category for Fixed and Kleefeld, Man's Hayley Peters in the Grades 10 to 12 for Forbidden Realities.
The winner will be announced on CBC Books on June 12, 2025.
