DREAMLAND

A compelling and thought-provoking story by Rosa Rankin-Gee set in Margate in the imminent future. The story is told through the eyes of Chance, a teenage girl living hand to mouth in a dysfunctional family, whilst also falling in love, against a backdrop of escalating political and environmental changes, all revealing a frightening window to an unknown future. Read before the BBC TV adaptation hits the screen by the end of the year.

Jas is a failed artist and single mum of three living on the breadline in London. When offered a cash sum of money to relocate to Margate, where she grew up, she moves her family there. But times are changing, the sea level is rising and constantly flooding the town and temperatures are increasing at an alarming rate. The town begins to shut down. Schools, pubs and shops close, food becomes scarce, houses are abandoned and unemployment is rife. Chance and her elder brother JD start hanging around Margate’s derelict buildings and seafront including the abandoned amusement park “Dreamland”. Drugs become the order of the day aided by the arrival of JD’s new business partner Kole, a charismatic thug who enters their lives with life changing consequences.

Chance is bright and fearless and her mother has high hopes for her future, but when tragedy strikes, to protect both her mother and the new baby arrival, Chance turns to crime, becoming adept at breaking into houses whilst Jas gradually becomes a hardened addict. Everything darkens when ‘the people in charge’ from London arrive to ‘fix’ Margate by building a wall to stop the flooding and talk of reviving the town. When Chance comes to the rescue to save one of the newbies called Frankie from a group of feral locals, they fall in love. Conflicted by her will to survive and protect her family versus her strong feelings for Frankie, Chance tries to make sense of a world spiralling into madness and fight back against the establishment. Can Chance trust Frankie who promises her a safer future on the ‘other side’?

Rankin-Gee has created a story predicting a chilling future that alarmingly feels not that far away as the world today experiences flooding from increasingly common extreme weather conditions. However, she balances this disturbing prospect with a beautiful story of love, loyalty and friendship. The pace drops slightly and becomes somewhat repetitive during the ebb and flow of the relationship between Chance and Frankie but perhaps this is symptomatic of the contrasting status of their positions in society. Sure to provide many discussion points for your book club and make you wonder if, when disaster reaches your doorstep, do you stay or try to escape to the 'other side'?

If you enjoyed Station Eleven and Prophet Song, both reviewed in the Den, then this will definitely appeal. The Den can’t wait for the imminent BBC TV adaptation.