Very enjoyable read, great characters!

Wonderfully assured first novel. Loved the fragility and strength of the various characters.

The Town that Drowned is a gentle story by debut Canadian author Riel Nason which was recently recognized by several major national literary prizes.

It's the mid sixties and the narrator is fourteen year old Ruby Carson who lives in a small rural town named Haverton on the banks of the St John River which wends it's way through New Brunswick, Canada. Ruby's best friend has moved away over the summer and she is dreading the return to school. Already a target of derision by her peers because of her brother's strange behaviour, Ruby finds herself ostracized after falling through the ice and seeing a vision of the town underwater as drowned townspeople drift by.

While The Town That Drowned is a coming of age tale as Ruby experiences the angst of adolescence, including first love, the larger story centers around the death of a community. Ruby's insensible vision becomes a reality when survey pegs appear in the town and the government announces that the building of the new Mactaquac Dam will result in the relocation of Haverton.

The strength of this story is in Nason's characterisation of a community struggling with change. Just as Percy, who has Asperger's, finds it difficult to tolerate any deviations from order and routine, the townspeople are unwilling to embrace the government directive to desert their homes. How each deals with the inevitable paints a poignant tale of loss, change and renewal.

The writing of The Town That Drowned has a dreamy quality but the slow pace coupled with the lack of overt plot action meant I found my attention wondering more than once, even though I found the idea of a town being forcibly destroyed in this way fascinating.

While labeled as literary Young Adult, mainly I suspect because of the teenage narrator, I think The Town That Drowned will more likely appeal to an adult audience who will appreciate the literary style. Reviews suggest it particularly resonates with those whose childhood communities have fallen victim to a similar fate as Haverton.

This book is an absolute gift. I thought it was remarkable. I borrowed it from the library, but now I'm going to buy a copy of my own.

Enjoyed this novel based on true account, in New Brunswick

Ruby Carson is an extremely endearing narrator, and this is the kind of book I would have loved as a child. Going from the summary, however, I am a bit disappointed in (what I perceived as) the lack of the promised "long-simmering secrets." Although set in the the 1960's, the story lacks the anachronistic prose of books actually written in that era, while still remaining emblematic of a past era, in small details like Ruby's clothes, and the manner in which Mr. Cole met his late wife, Rita.

Our book club enjoyed this book. The characters felt real and we grew to care about how they would all cope as their town was drowned.

We gave it:
10/9/8/8/8/8/8.5/7.5/7.5,4/5/6/8