Floodland
Marcus Sedgwick
Subjects
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.
Reviews
I really enjoyed reading this book. I liked how it is relevant to the current situation of our planet and links to global warming. I would recommend
danielle.gray
Very much reminded me of Lord of the Flies. First book by Marcus Sedgewick I have read and one that made me think about the consequences of global warming we are navigating right now.
Missa124
A great book which looks into the future to highlight the damage global warming poses. The lead character, Zoe, was strong and independent child who was able to deal with the challenges of survival. I would recommend it to all children in Y5/6..
Tricky tree
Interesting links to, or themes of floods, survival and who to trust. Elements of a modern day 'Lord of the Flies' and highlighting the problems of global warming from a futuristic perspective.
Miss_Styles
This book takes a look at one of the possible futures in our path if we continue on the destructive route humans are currently on. It follows a fictional girl's story as she tries to find her parents, who mistakenly leaves her behind in Norwich - now an island in the middle of the rising seas.
cbyiers
I chose to read Floodland as my year 6 class novel one term as I had seen it on so many year 6 reading lists and we were looking at environmental changes. The class enjoyed the developing plot which moves quickly and includes several very anguished and dark moments which kept them engrossed in the story. The ending when it came felt a little sudden, and my class felt it was a little to neat for the story, so they then wrote their own endings. I was a little disappointed with the writing however, as the language choices and devices used are a little lacking for a year 6 book. For example, at one point children stopped me reading to point out the repetitive use of the verb 'said', and there were other times grammatical choices jarred a little as it didn't feel the writing did the story justice. That said, if you want a dramatic, topical narrative that will prompt lots of discussion this is a good book, just don't use it as a writing teaching tool.
bcameron