FloodWorld

Imagine London in the future, when rising sea levels have submerged half of the city. Privileged citizens live in the central zone, protected by a huge wall. Meanwhile the less fortunate scrape a living in The Shanties, a squalid area of flooded tower blocks and rickety boardwalks. In this fractured world, the only thing that unites the inhabitants from inside and outside the wall is their fear of a different race: The Mariners.

FloodWorld is pacily written with lots of easy-to-read dialogue which is interleaved with more challenging and descriptive language, making it a good book for moving readers on to more demanding reads. Kara provides a strong female role model: clever, courageous and tough, but warm and honest too.

The narrative of FloodWorld also has a very cinematic feel, which is not surprising for a writer who used to be a film critic. Behind the gripping action sequences lie thought-provoking themes of environmental responsibility, truth, prejudice and power. If you are teaching pupils about the environment, you could use this book to introduce the implications of rising sea levels or the importance of marine conservation. It also raises questions about how we view people from unfamiliar societies and whether violence is ever justified.