• Age: 12 to 18
• Grade: 8 to 12
• Reading age: 12 to 18

Key Selling Points

• Two foster brothers pull together to survive when a flash flood leaves them stranded in their already evacuated neighborhood.
• The story highlights the importance of foster care, providing safe spaces for troubled youth and being prepared for emergencies, while exploring themes of growing up and taking responsibility.
• The characters’ neurodivergence—attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) and fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD)—is depicted realistically and with sensitivity.
• This is a gripping, realistic depiction of what it might be like to experience a flash flood and its aftermath. Gabrielle Prendergast is also the author of the Orca Anchor title Aftershock, which follows the story of two half sisters after an earthquake.
• Enhanced features (dyslexia-friendly font, cream paper, larger trim size) to increase reading accessibility for dyslexic and other striving readers.

Gabrielle Prendergast is a UK-born Canadian/Australian who lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, with her husband and daughter. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia. Gabrielle is the author of the verse novels Capricious and Audacious, which was shortlisted for a CLA Award, and The Frail Days in the Orca Limelights and the middle-grade novel Pandas on the Eastside. For More information, visit www.angelhorn.com.

Gabrielle Prendergast's profile page

“The pacing and tension rise and flow with the floodwaters, whisking readers along…A fast-paced, plot-driven story for reluctant readers.”

Kirkus Reviews

“[An] epic adventure…Foster brothers [try] to survive a natural disaster in this intense climate drama. Though Zack and Peter continuously clash over the course of this harrowing read, their growing bond and mutual realization that they are stronger together than apart emphasizes the simple messaging of this brief story about family.”

Publishers Weekly