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.