Floodland

Review Entirely deserving of the Branford Boase Award, Floodland is a stunning debut novel that precluded more literary brilliance to follow. ― Marty Mulrooney, ALTERNATIVE MAGAZINE ONLINE Product Description A gripping, prizewinning novel about a girl surviving in a devastated world. Imagine that a few years from now England is covered by water, and Norwich is an island. Zoe, left behind in the confusion when her parents escaped, survives there as best she can. Alone and desperate among marauding gangs, she manages to dig a derelict boat out of the mud and gets away to Eels Island. But Eels Island, whose raggle-taggle inhabitants are dominated by the strange boy Dooby, is full of danger too. The belief that she will one day find her parents spurs Zoe on to a dramatic escape in a story of courage and determination that is handled with warmth and humanity. This book was the winner of the Branford Boase Award 2001 and marked the start of author Marcus Sedgwick's multi-award-winning career. Amazon Review Zoe ran. Harder than she had ever run in her life. Her feet pounded through the deserted streets of derelict buildings. Somewhere, not far behind, she could hear the gang coming after her. It felt as if her heart would burst but she didn't slow down. She'd been planning to leave the island for a long time but had been putting it off. It was a big decision to set out to sea in a tiny rowing boat. Now she had no choice. Floodland is an extraordinary novel, set some time in the not too distant future in a land that has been reclaimed by the sea. Zoe last saw her father and her sick mother as they sailed away on the last boat from Norwich, leaving her to face the future alone. She finds her way to Eel Island, a place where mobs rule in a bid for survival in a dark, dank graveyard of a world. This is stunning debut novel from Marcus Sedgwick and one in which the reader is instantly transported to the watery wastelands of the Fens via strong characterisation and an atmospheric tension that envelops the reader in a sea mist that chills to the bone. The odds are against survival but as reluctant relationships develop, built on the shaky foundations of need rather than any form of trust, Sedgwick captures the essence of human nature by never passing judgement on even the bad guys, preferring instead to make them, quite simply, human beings who have been forced to recognise the survival of the fittest. Floodland is a challenging novel for older readers who will be captivated by a vision of the future that is not so unbelievable. Age 11 and over. --Susan Harrison Book Description A gripping, prizewinning novel about a girl surviving in a devastated world From the Back Cover Imagine that England is covered by water, and Norwich is an island … Zoe, left behind in the confusion when her parents escaped, survives there as best she can. Alone and desperate among marauding gangs, she manages to dig a derelict boat out of the mud and gets away to Eels Island. But Eels Island, whose raggle-taggle inhabitants are dominated by the strange boy Dooby, is full of danger too. The belief that she will one day find her parents spurs Zoe on in her dramatic voyage, in a story full of of courage and determination. 'Great stuff.' Daily Telegraph About the Author Marcus Sedgwick used to work in children's publishing and before that he was a bookseller. He now happily writes full-time. His books have been shortlisted for many awards, including The GUARDIAN CHILDREN'S FICTION AWARD, the BLUE PETER BOOK AWARD, the CARNEGIE MEDAL and the EDGAR ALLAN POE AWARD. Marcus lives in Cambridge and has a teenage daughter, Alice. Find his website at www.marcussedgwick.com and follow him on Twitter @marcussedgwick