About this ebook
A powerful post-nuclear holocaust novel described by the author as, 'my cry against the monstrous weapons men have made'.
Everyone thought, when the alarm bell rang, that it was just another fire practice. But the first bombs had fallen on Hamburg and Leningrad, the headmaster said, and a full-scale nuclear attack was imminent . . .
It's a real-life nightmare. Sarah and her family have to stay cooped up in the tightly-sealed kitchen for days on end, dreading the inevitable radioactive fall-out and the subsequent slow, torturous death, which seems almost preferable to surviving in a grey, dead world, choked by dust.
But then, from out of the dust and the ruins and the desolation, comes new life, a new future, and a whole brave new world...
Everyone thought, when the alarm bell rang, that it was just another fire practice. But the first bombs had fallen on Hamburg and Leningrad, the headmaster said, and a full-scale nuclear attack was imminent . . .
It's a real-life nightmare. Sarah and her family have to stay cooped up in the tightly-sealed kitchen for days on end, dreading the inevitable radioactive fall-out and the subsequent slow, torturous death, which seems almost preferable to surviving in a grey, dead world, choked by dust.
But then, from out of the dust and the ruins and the desolation, comes new life, a new future, and a whole brave new world...
Ratings and reviews
4.7
24 reviews
Charisma O'Rourke
- Flag inappropriate
December 22, 2013
I first read this at secondary school, loved it then, I have it read as an adult and love it still. You just become the characters and it certainly makes you stop and think....
3 people found this review helpful
fee anderson
- Flag inappropriate
January 17, 2023
I read this book in high school for the O Levels, it was meaningful and intense then as it is now that I've re-read it in late 40's. Very well written, captures the mind. I wish there was ever a second book about the lives of humans/mutants after Simon?
A Google user
- Flag inappropriate
May 4, 2017
Same here, we read it in the 7th grade... so heart renching
1 person found this review helpful
About the author
Louise Lawrence was born in Leatherhead, Surrey in 1943. When she left school she became an assistant librarian, 'from which came my love and respect for books, and my thirst for written knowledge'. Louise Lawrence married and had her first of three children in 1963. The experience turned her to writing: 'Deprived of book-filled surroundings I was bound to write my own.'Since 'O' levels she has not received a formal education, but has flourished as an auto-didact. Among her interests are Botany, Poetry, Religion, Yoga, Politics and the Occult. 'Attempting to understand people led me to study Psychology for many years - which led me to study Feminisim - which led to Sociology. The road is endless!'
Reading information
Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can listen to audiobooks purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.
eReaders and other devices
To read on e-ink devices like Kobo eReaders, you'll need to download a file and transfer it to your device. Follow the detailed Help Center instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders.