About The Flooded Earth
2019 Green Earth Book Award Winner
2018 Booklandia List & Shout: "Twins Peak" roundup selection
"[T]his adventure novel is a strong series opener with a unique and timely concept. The fast-paced story will keep readers engaged, and solid world building will draw readers into this fascinating cli-fi (climate fiction) tale. VERDICT A timely addition to most middle grade collections."— School Library Journal
"McConnochie covers serious topics prevalent today through the journeys of four kids who provide touches of innocence in this gritty world, each with their own tragedies and obstacles that they turn to one another for help overcoming. A bright adventure that touches upon a range of intense themes, from climate change to the refugee crisis."— Booklist
"McConnochie does a fine job of world-building, creating vivid images of abandoned waterfront communities and also developing the technical and governing structures that shape that world. The plot-driven adventure is deepened by interactions and revelations that shape the characters as they make their way across the ocean."— The Horn Book Magazine
"As is typical of the cli-fi genre, McConnochie explores current-world issues within her adventure....Despite the post-disaster setting, an exciting and old-fashioned sailboat quest with pirates, secret codes, storms, and cannibals."— Kirkus Reviews
"Questions of valuing human life, responsibly caring for the environment, proactively responding to natural disasters, and thoughtfully considering governmental authority could emerge as a result of reading this book...these advanced themes makes the story richer...In a racially charged society, focusing character development on relationships, rather than physical attributes, is mentally refreshing....Recommended."— School Library Connection
"Mardi McConnochie's middle grade, cli-fi dystopia is a wild adventure across a wildly different Earth....The magnificent capabilities of the book's determined young leads emerge as The Flooded Earth's dominant force. Readers of this first in the series will be eager to learn where the team's sailboat takes them next..."— Foreword Reviews
"We rated this book: [5/5]...The journey is more than just a search for their father but an uncovering of secrets and the reveal of betrayal. McConnochie explores a variety of themes including refugees, climate change, slavery, and bullying. The Flooded Earth is the journey of two siblings as they brave open waters to find their father and encounter along the way a variety of dangers in this gritty cli-fi world of water."— Tulsa Book Review
"A taut, suspenseful, masterfully written 'cli-fi' thriller, The Flooded Earth combines the best of speculative fiction with strong characterization and moral dilemma....[R]eaders will find themselves...exhilarated, and begging for more. Highly Recommended."— CM Magazine
"[W]ell-paced, full of adventure and an exciting read. Current issues explored in this book besides climate change include immigrant issues, poverty, human trafficking and more."— Youth Services Book Review
"[T]he first in a series of books following the children, and I am dying to find out the next adventures for them. The author is well-known for both children's and adult fiction in Australia, and I am pleased to discover her."— Canadian Bookworm
"This intriguing story of friendship, family, and adventure is perfect for middle grade students, both boys and girls."— Angie Brand's Classroom
09/01/2018
Gr 4–6—It has been 40 years since a massive flood devastated the world. Entire economies collapsed and many people tried to find refuge elsewhere. While more affluent communities were rebuilt over time, others, especially those below the new sea level, were written off, left to fend for themselves. The Navy, best equipped to deal with the aftermath of the flood, took emergency control of the government. When Annalie and Will's father, Spinner, goes missing after he is accused of stealing top-secret technology from the Admiralty, the twins set off an a perilous journey to find him. Annalie leaves her Admiralty-run boarding school where she was ostracized by the other children for living in the "slums," to join Will's search for Spinner. Aided by two other children and a talking parrot, the twins must navigate Spinner's ship while evading the Admiralty, pirates, and other dangers. Not sure whom to trust, the children must rely on their own intuition and skill. Originally published in Australia, this adventure novel is a strong series opener with a unique and timely concept. The fast-paced story will keep readers engaged, and solid world building will draw readers into this fascinating cli-fi (climate fiction) tale. VERDICT A timely addition to most middle grade collections.—Marissa Lieberman, East Orange Public Library, NJ
2018-08-14
A high-seas adventure stars 12-year-old twins Will and Annalie, who seek their missing father in a flooded, post-ecological-collapse world.
This trilogy opener, first published in Australia as Quest of the Sunfish (2016), begins in the slums of a coastal city 40 years after the Flood that reshaped global geography and politics. Will loves sailing and working in the workshop with their dad, Spinner, while Annalie is more bookish and is the first kid from Lowtown with a scholarship to her prestigious school. Neither knows of anything hinky about Spinner, so they're both shocked when Spinner takes off moments before intruders trash the workshop. Annalie, accompanied by Essie, her only school friend, escapes from school and sneaks home to help. It seems as though Spinner's on the run from the Admiralty that rules most of the post-Flood world, and the kids aren't safe. The three children and a cyborg parrot with augmented intelligence set out on the Sunfish to find Spinner. As is typical of the cli-fi genre, McConnochie explores current-world issues within her adventure. Climate refugees and strict immigration laws have created a permanent underclass and a human trafficking problem, which privileged Essie begins to understand when the adventurers are joined by a starving former slave boy. Racial descriptors are few; naming conventions will have readers imagining the principals as mixed-race or Asian.
Despite the post-disaster setting, an exciting and old-fashioned sailboat quest with pirates, secret codes, storms, and cannibals. (Science fiction. 10-12)
