What do you think?
Rate this book
Gran Caravan: Calm Act West
When Denver breaks under climate collapse, 61-year-old Claire Cutler loses it all—and joins a gran caravan to stop surviving and start living.
The crash doesn’t come all at once, across the whole country. For Claire Cutler and her bad-influence friend Lisa, it starts the day Colorado goes bankrupt. They're both laid off from their state jobs.
The New Dust Bowl has emptied the Plains. Climate refugees flood into Denver. There’s no housing, no food, no work—and no help coming. When Claire sends her dual-citizen granddaughter to safety in Canada, something breaks in her. Her last tie to the old life, the old rules, the old country, is gone.
She’s not the only one. Everyone’s angry—but most keep their heads down, follow orders, try to hang on.
Not Claire. Not anymore.
In the wandering caravans of the newly homeless, she finds others with nothing left to lose. What starts as survival becomes something more.
A rebel is born in the wreckage of the West.
Celebrating 10 years of the Calm Act a bold new action adventure for fans and newcomers alike.
The crash doesn’t come all at once, across the whole country. For Claire Cutler and her bad-influence friend Lisa, it starts the day Colorado goes bankrupt. They're both laid off from their state jobs.
The New Dust Bowl has emptied the Plains. Climate refugees flood into Denver. There’s no housing, no food, no work—and no help coming. When Claire sends her dual-citizen granddaughter to safety in Canada, something breaks in her. Her last tie to the old life, the old rules, the old country, is gone.
She’s not the only one. Everyone’s angry—but most keep their heads down, follow orders, try to hang on.
Not Claire. Not anymore.
In the wandering caravans of the newly homeless, she finds others with nothing left to lose. What starts as survival becomes something more.
A rebel is born in the wreckage of the West.
Celebrating 10 years of the Calm Act a bold new action adventure for fans and newcomers alike.
310 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 12, 2025
About the author
Ginger Booth
73 books122 followersPlease visit my website at books.gingerbooth.com, and join my Reader Group for free prequels.
After 14 years on walkabout to New York, Colorado, Texas and Tokyo, I swam home to spawn in shoreline Connecticut. A recovering computer programmer, I’ve worked in the seismic industry, semiconductor electronics, academic research in biology and environmental science, and online teaching simulators.
I live alone, and enjoy swimming, walking, and crafts. I grow vegetables indoors, until my crops spill outside and down the driveway. I read voraciously, curious about everything, especially how things work.
After 14 years on walkabout to New York, Colorado, Texas and Tokyo, I swam home to spawn in shoreline Connecticut. A recovering computer programmer, I’ve worked in the seismic industry, semiconductor electronics, academic research in biology and environmental science, and online teaching simulators.
I live alone, and enjoy swimming, walking, and crafts. I grow vegetables indoors, until my crops spill outside and down the driveway. I read voraciously, curious about everything, especially how things work.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
June 17, 2025
Gran Caravan is a standalone to the Ginger Booth’s well-wrought Calm Act universe. The books bring the slow economic collapse of the USA in line with the very slow climate change disasters. Banks fail, treasuries default, government employees are terminated and services canceled, inflation and currency drama, people lose their jobs and their homes. What happens next? As Colorado and neighboring states fail, the protagonist Claire sends her granddaughter to family in a safer Canada and joins the Gran Caravan.
The Gran Caravan are a multi-generational caravan of self-sufficient travelers—primarily retirement aged people, dependents, and some younger adults who want to take direct action —who’ve adapted to life on the move with solar-powered RVs, permaculture knowledge, and grit. It’s a story about surviving collapse, but more importantly, rebuilding community on ethical and ecological terms.
What works in this book? It features older women as characters that are capable of taking care of themselves. The practical approach rather than whining adds an optimistic tone. The author sketches a blueprint for how ordinary overlooked people can live extraordinarily in extraordinary times.
What to read next? I have an urge to start the Calm Act books from the beginning. Again. They better written than the story that arises while doom scrolling the current events, and a bit more optimistic.
The Gran Caravan are a multi-generational caravan of self-sufficient travelers—primarily retirement aged people, dependents, and some younger adults who want to take direct action —who’ve adapted to life on the move with solar-powered RVs, permaculture knowledge, and grit. It’s a story about surviving collapse, but more importantly, rebuilding community on ethical and ecological terms.
What works in this book? It features older women as characters that are capable of taking care of themselves. The practical approach rather than whining adds an optimistic tone. The author sketches a blueprint for how ordinary overlooked people can live extraordinarily in extraordinary times.
What to read next? I have an urge to start the Calm Act books from the beginning. Again. They better written than the story that arises while doom scrolling the current events, and a bit more optimistic.
June 21, 2025
This SO could happen
It's June 2025. 10 years ago this tale would have been entertaining but much less relevant. Reading it today with all that's happening environmentally and politically in real time it's terrifyingly believable. Well done GB!
It's June 2025. 10 years ago this tale would have been entertaining but much less relevant. Reading it today with all that's happening environmentally and politically in real time it's terrifyingly believable. Well done GB!
July 25, 2025
This is an excellent addition to the Calm Act series. It features a grandmother recently laid off work, forced to surrender the granddaughter she raised as she becomes homeless and finds that there will be no pension or unemployment benefits. Fed up with everything she joins the Gran Caravan, a convoy of buses, caravans mobile homes and SUVs which are travelling around in ever diminishing territory. A last hurrah or a new way of life? Claire at 61 years old does her best to become useful but although her mind is willing, her heart is not totally committed and her body is not very happy with the situation. She longs for a bed, regular showers and meals. This story features a mature, older woman seeking a life where she can contribute, it has humour, drama and action.
July 21, 2025
Finally! Worthy Apocalyptic Fiction not in YA
Do you scour the YA section for apocalyptic fiction with science, romance, adventure, and character growth? Despite weird looks because you are over 60? Proudly bypass YA for Gran Caravan, a book with the best of all that for us at our age!
Do you scour the YA section for apocalyptic fiction with science, romance, adventure, and character growth? Despite weird looks because you are over 60? Proudly bypass YA for Gran Caravan, a book with the best of all that for us at our age!
October 2, 2025
I enjoyed this book very much. Though I did get confused when Claire suddenly flip flopped from following Ellis to following Powers. I do understand her wanting to go back to Boulder though. Would have liked to follow these characters further, but this series seems to have three basically stand alone books.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 17, 2025
Sad that I am finished.
I wanted to read it all in one go but I took a few days so I could savor it. The end was good though not what I expected when I started the book. Still want to know how the Caravan meets up with the people back east.
I wanted to read it all in one go but I took a few days so I could savor it. The end was good though not what I expected when I started the book. Still want to know how the Caravan meets up with the people back east.
June 16, 2025
Love the story , the events are sometimes a bit hard to follow ,but fun to read!
July 27, 2025
A really vivid look at Colorado as society is collapsing, I really like that the main character is an older woman, not young and nubile.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews