After the Water Wars split America into hostile territories, Cam, an orphan of "unknown origins" goes on the run, guided by memories of a blue door.
Cam has lived in a series of foster placements that have become more dangerous the older she gets. She escapes, somehow drawn by a vision of a blue door that brings her to the home of Jim. A former rocker and activist, Jim has nothing much left except for his cats, his memories of his dead wife, and — it turns out — three priceless vintage guitars.
When his greedy children come looking for the guitars, Jim and Cam become runaways together, making their way south and west with two donkeys and the cats. Cam doesn’t know where Jim is taking them, and their progress is always driven by the need for water, which brings them in contact with the desperate, dangerous and eccentric people who are all competing for the most valuable resource of all.
As haunting and propulsive as Cormac McCarthy's The Road and Cherie Dimaline's The Marrow Thieves, After the Water gives readers a bright new hero to root for in Cam, a young person who refuses to be defined as a commodity, choosing instead to fight her way to safety and self-knowledge.
Key Text Features
author’s note
chapters
dialogue
epigraph
After the Water Wars split America into hostile territories, Cam, an orphan of "unknown origins" goes on the run, guided by memories of a blue door.
Cam has lived in a series of foster placements that have become more dangerous the older she gets. She escapes, somehow drawn by a vision of a blue door that brings her to the home of Jim. A former rocker and activist, Jim has nothing much left except for his cats, his memories of his dead wife, and — it turns out — three priceless vintage guitars.
When his greedy children come looking for the guitars, Jim and Cam become runaways together, making their way south and west with two donkeys and the cats. Cam doesn’t know where Jim is taking them, and their progress is always driven by the need for water, which brings them in contact with the desperate, dangerous and eccentric people who are all competing for the most valuable resource of all.
As haunting and propulsive as Cormac McCarthy's The Road and Cherie Dimaline's The Marrow Thieves, After the Water gives readers a bright new hero to root for in Cam, a young person who refuses to be defined as a commodity, choosing instead to fight her way to safety and self-knowledge.
Key Text Features
author’s note
chapters
dialogue
epigraph
| Published By | Groundwood Books Ltd — Feb 2, 2027 |
| Specifications | 224 pages | 5.5 in x 8.5 in |
| Written By |
Lori Weber is the author of nine YA novels and one YA short-story collection. The Ribbon Leaf was nominated for the Red Maple Award and the Geoffrey Bilson Award, and it also won the Canadian Jewish Literary Award for Fiction. Born in Montreal, Lori is a long-time Quebecker who now lives in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. |
| Written By |
|
Lori Weber is the author of nine YA novels and one YA short-story collection. The Ribbon Leaf was nominated for the Red Maple Award and the Geoffrey Bilson Award, and it also won the Canadian Jewish Literary Award for Fiction. Born in Montreal, Lori is a long-time Quebecker who now lives in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. |
| Audience | ages 12 to 16 / grades 7 to 12 |
| Key Text Features | author’s note; chapters; dialogue; epigraph |