I remember a book from when I was a kid, but can't remember the name.

The plot is split into three stages; before, during and after a
nuclear holocaust. It follows one girl through each stage. I remember
the first bit is set in a house. The father is not in the house and
joins a group which manages to get underground. The mother, daughter
and brother stay in the house and gradually grow ill. The daughter
however, remains healthy. Later on, after hearing about a man who is
also healthy, the family takes the daughter to him. The man and the
daughter are the left responsible to create a new species apadted to
the environment. At the end, the Dad is reunited with his daughter and
her children.

I can remember more if need be.

Thanks

---

Request for Question Clarification by leli-ga on 04 Dec 2002 10:08 PST

I've got an idea which book you're thinking of, but can I check some
details with you?

The book I'm thinking of was first published in 1985. It's set in
England, in the Cotswolds, and starts with the sense of panic as
nuclear war begins. Sarah is the girl whose father Bill survives in a
bunker.

Let me know if this is it, and I'll get back to you with full details.

Leli

---

Clarification of Question by spinalwiz-ga on 04 Dec 2002 15:34 PST

Yes, that's the one. Thanks a lot!!

Hello again

The book is "Children of the Dust" by Louise Lawrence and it's been
republished several times since it first came out in 1985.

You can buy it from Amazon.co.uk for £4.99
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0099433427/026-2630165-2424465

Their synopsis starts:

"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..."


There's a long extract from the beginning of the book on the Random
House website:
http://www.randomhouse.co.uk/catalog/extract.htm?command=search&db=main.txt&eqisbndata=0099433427


Achuka.co.uk has a review/summary of "Children of the Dust". You can
either read it to check it's the right book - or not, if you want some
of it to come as a surprise on second reading!

Achuka teenage fiction recommendations
http://www.achuka.co.uk/teenrec15.htm

I hope you enjoy it as much this time round.

Please feel free to get back to me if anything needs clarification.

Regards - Leli


search:
I thought my teenage daughter had told me about this book, so I asked
her for the title.
Then I used this search:
"Children of the Dust" Louise Lawrence
://www.google.com/search?q=%22children+of+the+dust%22+louise+lawrence&hl=en&lr=&cr=countryUK|countryGB&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sa=n&oq=%22children+of+the+dusr%22+louise+lawrence

---

Clarification of Answer by leli-ga on 05 Dec 2002 02:36 PST

Thank-you for the stars. Enjoy the book! Glad I could help.

Execellent, can't wait to read it again. I've has this on my mind for
about 10 years!!!