Synopsis After a dramatic escape from the appoaching floods, Jack and his family relocate to the country, where they meet Michael, ill and cared for by his sister. United by their love for horses, Jack and Michael hatch a plan to save a wild young horse from destruction. But they're in for a rough ride ...

Review After the Flood is set some time in the future where the effects of climate change have impacted on lifestyles and communities. That is not to suggest that it is in any way 'futuristic' in the traditional sense; if anything, the community that Matthews has created is far more reminiscent of old fashioned village life than anything remotely science fiction. In this way, Matthews keeps this element of the novel subtle, and much more powerful for it. The changes she imagines are ones which leave a society still recognisable as England, but which highlight the selfishness and convenience of the way we live today.

 The first three chapters are brilliantly action-packed. During a storm, the sea breaks through defences and races across marshes, eventually flooding Jack's home. Jack and his mother escape the ever-rising waters, thanks to his mother's foresight and ingenuity.

The story then moves forward by eighteen months. Jack and his family have moved to the countryside and we join Jack just as a friend called Michael has sent around his diary for Jack to read. The story of what has happened to Jack since the flood is then told through the dual narration of Jack and the diary.

This unusual structure could be used to demonstrate to children the different ways in which stories can be told, perhaps if read alongside an epistolic novel or as part of a wider project about diary-keeping. Despite the pace of the opening chapters, and further exciting happenings such as a tornado, the emphasis is more on the emotional journeys of the characters, rather than action. Most of the characters go through a change of perspective, which is brought about by what they learn from each other over the course of the novel. There are two scenes which might be useful for a discussion with children about conflict and co-operation in small communities. The first occurs when a family is caught illicitly using the village's 'fuel-cell' (i.e. not horse-drawn, which is rare for a vehicle in Matthews' post-climate change society) ambulance for a picnic, and the second involves the village pulling together to save a life after a tornado.

There is a twist at the end, the purpose of which I am a little puzzled by, and therefore wonder if children may be nonplussed by it too, but that aside, this book is worth investing time in to appreciate the warmth and attention to detail which has gone into the creation of these richly-textured characters. It should also prove a winner with any child obsessed with horses!

2008-08-28