The Town That Drowned - Softcover

Nason, Riel

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0864926405 ISBN 13: 9780864926401

Publisher: Goose Lane Editions, 2011

Synopsis

Winner, Commonwealth Book Prize, Canada and the Caribbean, Frye Academy Award, and Margaret and John Savage First Book Award

Shortlisted, CLA Young Adult Book Award, Red Maple Award, and University of Canberra Book of the Year

Longlisted, IMPAC Dublin Award and Canada Reads

Living with a weird brother in a small town can be tough enough. Having a spectacular fall through the ice at a skating party and nearly drowning are grounds for embarrassment. But having a vision and narrating it to the assembled crowd solidifies your status as an outcast.

What Ruby Carson saw during that fateful day was her entire town -- buildings and people -- floating underwater. Then an orange-tipped surveyor stake turns up in a farmer's field. Another is found in the cemetery. A man with surveying equipment is spotted eating lunch near Pokiok Falls. The residents of Haverton soon discover that a massive dam is being constructed and that most of their homes will be swallowed by the rising water. Suspicions mount, tempers flare, and secrets are revealed. As the town prepares for its own demise, 14-year-old Ruby Carson sees it all from a front-row seat.

Set in the 1960s, The Town That Drowned evokes the awkwardness of childhood, the thrill of first love, and the importance of having a place to call home. Deftly written in a deceptively unassuming style, Nason's keen insights into human nature and the depth of human attachment to place make this novel ripple in an amber tension of light and shadow.

About this title

Review:

"I loved it. It's Canadian historical fiction with a tiny touch of the paranormal." - 2012 Canadian Library Association young Adult Book Award judge - 20120809

"If her debut novel, The Town That Drowned, is any indication, Riel Nason is a writer to watch. This tender tale about a New Brunswick village threatened by the provincial government's plan to build a dam has a ton of soul." - Susan G. Cole - NOW Magazine - 20120809

"The writing is finely polished, the locale evocative, and her dialogue rings true. In Ruby, she nails the voice of youth." - Maple Tree Literary Supplement - 20120809

"The Town That Drowned is not easily forgotten." - Scene Magazine - 20120809

"[A] captivating debut novel ... many flashes of clever humour and felicitous, well-paced storytelling that keeps you engaged throughout." - National Post - 20120809

"Charming, wry, and believable ... Nason has a particular gift for introducing supporting characters with memorable anecdotes, each of which reads like a sparkling little gem of a short story ... Ruby's voice, vibrating with contradictory desires, [delivers] shot-to-the-heart moments of real humour and pathos." - Quill & Quire - 20120809

"Riel Nason's debut novel establishes her as a writer with a bright future ... Nason's writing is warm and empathetic. She has a lovely ear for dialogue and her townspeople are well drawn. She also does a terrific job capturing the feel of a 1960s rural New Brunswick." - Chronicle-Herald - 20120809

"An impressive first novel." - Winnipeg Review - 20120809

"Fantastic ... I had such an emotional reaction ... The ending is so hopeful and uplifting. Highly recommended." - Chrisbookarama.com - 20130118

"This is a lighthearted and well-written book that I would recommend to anyone." - Meg Forrestell-Page - Record - 20130624

From the Back Cover:

Living with an eccentric little brother can be tough. Falling through the ice at a skating party and nearly drowning are grounds for embarrassment. But having a vision and narrating it to assembled onlookers? That solidifies your status as an outcast.

What Ruby Carson saw during that fateful hallucination was her entire hometown houses and people floating underwater. Then an orange-tipped surveyor stake appears in a field, another in the cemetery. Soon everyone discovers that a massive dam is being constructed and their homes will eventually be swallowed by rising water. Suspicions mount, tempers flare, long-simmering secrets are revealed. As the town prepares for its demise, 14-year-old Ruby watches it all from a front-row seat.

Set in the 1960s, "The Town That Drowned" deftly evokes the awkwardness of childhood, the thrill of first love, and the importance of having a place, any place, to call home. - 20111017"

About this edition

• Publisher: Goose Lane Editions
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0864926405
• ISBN 13: 9780864926401
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 280