Flood City, by Daniel José Older

Flood City, by Daniel José Older (Scholastic, middle grade, February 2, 2021), is a wild, and (I say this after much careful consideration) rambunctious science fi fantasy that entertained me greatly!

Flood City is the last bastion of humanity on Earth.  Epic floods have covered all of the planet except for this raggedy conglomeration mostly made up of old buildings.  Off in space are the Chemical Barons, a powerful force (responsible for the floods in the first place) that wants to return to Earth by taking over Flood City.  The intergalactic Star Guard is protecting, and feeding, the Flood City folk, but it's the sort of protection that's essentially a totalitarian government (and the food tastes like wet towels).  The Chemical Barons are white, the Flood City folk various shades of brown.

Max's Mom was a kid when the floods hit, on a school trip in space.  But the flooded ruins are all Max has ever known.  He and his big sister know all its nooks and cranies, except for the parts where no one ventures (the electric ghost graveyard, and the ocean liner that's home to the mysterious Vapors).  Ato, a young Chemical Baron who's part of what's ostensibly an information gathering mission to Flood City, has only known life in space.

When Ato finds there's a nuclear warhead on board his ship, ready to be dropped on Flood City, he can't stand the thought of the resulting death and destruction, and sabotages the mission.  Surviving the crash landing, he's found by Max, and the two boys form an alliance to keep the other surviving Chemical Barons and their increasingly crazed leader from recovering, and using, the warhead.  Joining them is the daughter of the city's holographer, Djinna, who's mad drumming skills are matched by her technical abilities.  Yala, meanwhile, has joined the Star Gaurd, and is off in space, struggling to survive the hostile environment of her training (human recruits are not treated well at all).

And, skipping to the end,  the four kids (with some help from grownups and a friendly alien) save the day after much action and adventure and tension! The reign of the Star Guard is ended, the Chemical Barons are foiled (for the moment....)

I must confess I was confused as heck at first.  And I will further confess that there are lots of things that aren't explained (like the one magical bird that can carry messages from Earth to Space).  But when I realized that this wasn't a straight up sci fi future environmental apocalypse story, but rather a zesty mix of sci fi and fantasy of the rollicking sort, I relaxed and went along for the ride.  There are magical things alongside jet propulsion boots and space travel, and the reader must just nod in agreement.  I was nodding my head off by the end of the book, because of enjoying it so much!  (Although when I reached the end, I wanted very much to have someone else on hand who had also reached the end to talk too; I still have several "but what about xyz" sort of questions.....).

So there's a lot that's strange, but also a lot that's relatable even for kids living mundane lives, such as Max's crush on Djinna and his desire to break free of the boring sameness of music as proscribed by Star Guard (he's a trumpet player).  Seeing Ato and Max being able to work together after being on different sides, and Ato being able to rethink the stories he's grown up with, is also applicable to our own lives.

My personal favorite part of the book was the regular inclusion of the daily Flood City Gazette.  Though this Star Guard publication annoys the citizens (one of the first things they do when Star Guard pulls out, leaving them (maybe) to starve to death, is figure out how to get rid of the caps lock in which it is printed), I loved it, and always looked forward to the "Iguangull Ahoy!" section in particular. It amused me very much. (Yes there are iguana/gull hybrids with savage beaks and claws that can cut through metal flying around... ).

Strongly recommended to readers who have a tolerance for the somewhat complicated peculiar! (Star Wars fans, for instance, might well enjoy it lots).  That being said, this isn't how I think of myself, and yet I enjoyed it lots....so who knows?

disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher.