After the Flood by Kassandra Montag (audiobook)

genre: post-apocalyptic adult fiction

When climate changes have shifted our planet so that the only land available is little islands of high altitude, the world as it once was has ended.  Technology and political systems are nonexistent and a hard-scrabble life of trading, fending-for-yourself and lawless pirates are what's left over.  For Myra and her seven year old daughter Pearl, home is their boat and their destination is unknown until Myra learns what might've happened to her first daughter, Row, who was taken as a small child.  Then Myra knows that she won't let anything stop her from finding Row - if she has to sail the world to find her.

I can't give it more than two stars.  I just can't.  The idea of a water-covered world was so interesting to me, I love a post-apocalyptic journey and I had really been looking forward to reading it, but DANG is Myra the worst mom ever.  She was SUCH a frustrating and selfish character that I just could never fully invest in her.  Also, I have TWO seven year olds right now and I just couldn't believe Pearl was seven, her characterisation was so OFF to me.  And there was a scene at the end that had me yelling at my car stereo because it was so unbelievable for a seven year old.  Not only that but there were contradictions in the storyline that drove me nuts - things that couldn't have happened if the chronology she tells us about at one point in the book is true.  Also, we'd be in the middle of a really intense battle scene and all of a sudden Myra starts telling us about this one time with her Grandpa when they were fishing, then just pops back into the battle scene?  What the heck?  AND.  The first person present tense narration drove me crazy, SO MUCH of this book was just Myra telling us about her body at any given moment - her chest was always pounding or something was in her veins or her spine was tingling and I just wanted SHOWING not TELLING and so much just blah could've been left out.  A good story is in here it's just so weighted down.

I mean, why did I even finish it?  Because for the love of Pete, it was a Chicago Tribune Best Book of the Year - I hoped that somehow it would redeem itself!  And because in general I'm a finisher and I DID want to know how it ended, even if it had me grating my teeth the whole time.

content warning for sensitive readers: gratuitous violence, language, sexual content