I only read A Children's Bible: A Novel because I'm reading my way through the Aspen Words Literary Prize longlist. But, it left me pleasantly surprised.

Unsurprisingly there are bible references scattered throughout the story. From a character called Eve, to rescuing animals from a flood, plus three trail angels who appear at a birth and more. But there's also scathing humour, sarcasm and a huge amount of cynicism.

Set in a terrifyingly close future, in a world on the brink of climate Armageddon, the story follows a group of 12 overly mature teenagers on a multi-family holiday. Their parents seem oblivious to the doom that awaits, and are consumed by their attempts at a booze-filled, drug-fuelled last hurrah.

The children are forced to bear the brunt of the anxiety and responsibilities of the climate collapse.

It's this juxtaposition between the attitudes of the adults and the children that I thought was the most interesting part of the book. If we look at the overwhelming opinions of the older generations (particularly the leading parties in too many countries), they are far too blasé about the impacts of climate change. All of the responsibility and hope is thrown on to the shoulders of the younger generations. Generations of kids who had nothing to do with the making of the mess, but who will be the ones who are forced to try and clean it up.

I also found it really interesting seeing both how life changed and how it carried on after the disaster portion of the book. Following any natural disaster now, people continue living and find a new normal while dealing with the aftermath. It bought up a lot of questions (often uncomfortable ones) around what life will look like as the climate continues to change over the coming decades.

I rate the book itself 3.5 ⭐ but do also want to give it extra credit for the areas of thought and discussion that it opens.