A Children's Bible

“Once we lived in a summer country. In the woods there were tree houses, and on the lake there were boats.”

A group of well-off families gather together at a seaside summer rental. There are a lot of kids of various ages who run wild while their parents, who were schoolmates long ago, drink and behave outrageously. The kids are ashamed of the hedonistic antics of the adults and fend for themselves with the older ones caring for their younger siblings. They hang out in boats and camp on the beach for a few days until their parents call them home saying "some weather is on the way." A storm hits, it's a doozy. The property is flooded, trees fall, damaging the house, and electricity is cut off. Jack, one of the younger children, has been reading a children's bible that one of the parents gave him. He starts making some connections between the bible stories and what is happening around him and decides to save animals à la Noah's Ark (but he only collects one of each). Things go from bad to worse and the kids decide to flee with the boxed animals and a local yard worker named Burl who washed up during the storm. He knows the area and has a driver's licence. They pile into several cars headed for the Westchester County estate of one of the families but the roads are impassable so Burl suggests they go to his employer's home which is nearby. It is well-stocked with the provisions they need and they can sleep in the barn. They are comfortable there for a time but things take a very nasty turn. 

This is a cautionary tale about climate change and the breakdown of society narrated by Evie, older sister of Jack and a keen observer of human behaviour. It's a fast-paced novel without extraneous detail and I read it in a day because I didn't want to put it down. I highly recommend it and look forward to reading more by Lydia Millet.