Flood

by James Heneghan

When a flood kills eleven-year-old Andy Flynn's mother and stepfather, the only world he has ever known is gone and he is alone. Aunt Mona, whom he has never met, takes him to live with her in Halifax, on the opposite side of the country. During the flight, Aunt Mona tells him harshly that his father was not a war hero killed in battle, as Andy's mother led him to believe, but a no-good thief and drunk who is very much alive in Halifax. Andy is stunned, and as soon as they reach their destination, he runs away from his aunt to find his father.

James Heneghan's remarkable gift for storytelling shines as strongly as ever in this moving and funny tale.

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction

192 pages, Paperback

First published March 25, 2002

About the author

James Heneghan (born 1930) is a British Canadian author. Heneghan grew up Liverpool, England, and currently lives in Vancouver, British Columbia. He earned Canadian citizenship in 1963.

Series:
* The O'Brien Detective Agency

Awards:
* Arthur Ellis Award: Juvenile
o 1995 – Torn Away – Winner

* Sheila A. Egoff Children's Book Prize
o 1998 – Wish Me Luck – Winner
o 2001 – The Grave – Winner
o 2003 – Flood – Winner

Reviews

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Flood” is a pleasure to read. It’s Canadian and it’s supposed to be a book for “younger readers,” but I consider it to be entertaining adult fiction as well.

This tale is about an eleven year old boy named Andy Flynn. It’s told from a third person limited viewpoint (Andy’s). After reading only a few pages, we are quickly brought into Andy’s world, which is not, at the beginning, a happy one. Andy loses his mom and his step-dad in a flood and finds his life entirely transformed when his Aunt Mona from the east coast comes to take him home. Andy takes an immediate dislike to his stiff, severe Aunt Mona (she initially appears like a Miss Murdstone from “David Copperfield”) and he runs away from her to look for his newly discovered Dad.

Andy wants a Dad and a true home, but when he finds “Vinny” living in a rooming house, he doesn’t know what to think. As I read Andy’s experiences with the ne’er-do-well Vinny, I kept wondering when Andy was going to get a proper meal! He eats doughnuts, raisins, and once he makes his Dad and himself some pancakes. But Andy, during his stay with his dad, must have been starving! And dirty! Heneghan does an amazing job of describing the world of Vinny’s rooming house – the dirty washroom, down the hall, vomited over by an elderly drunk, the cockroaches and rats crawling aroud the rooms, and the dirty kitchen and never-washed beds.

Reading about Vinny, I am reminded of any number of places I’ve visited like it. Vinny’s rooming house is very real! There are thousands like them all over the country.

And Vinny, the Dad? Heneghan portrays him so lovingly that you can’t dislike the man, even though he’s an awful parent, a useless breadwinner, and an entirely unreliable and untrustworthy man. Despite all these faults, Vinny is a lovable story-teller with a compassionate heart and a gentle way about him. He never finds fault with another human being, he’s always kind, and he’s well liked in the community for who he is.

Before I finish, I’d better not forget some of the most memorable characters in the book: the “Sheehogue.” These are the little people, the fairies who watch over Andy. They are a clever and imaginative touch to a story that I enjoyed very much.

James Heneghan has written other tales that I’d like to follow up with. “The Grave” won the Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People, and “Wish me Luck,” won the Sheila A. Egoff Award and was nominated for a Governor General’s Award.

I can see why he’s acclaimed. His writing is frank and readable, and his characters are memorable!

[Orion Ryder · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't tell you how many times I have read this book. It's beautiful. That's the only word I can think of to describe it. I constantly borrowed it from the library, and have been longing to own my very own copy, however whenever I go to a bookstore I'm unable to find it. Hopefully I can order it for my birthday. The story has been with me since I was 13 years old. It would be a wonderful 21st birthday present.

[Alice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. Love these Hi Lo novels, high interest and easy to read for reluctant readers.

[kimsa · Rating 5 out of 5]

i read this book when i was 7 or 8 years old (s/o to gänseblättchen? gänseblatt?)
one of the first books i’ve ever read by myself and enjoyed…

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

SPOILER ALERT! DON'T READ UNLESS YOU HAVE READ THE BOOK

Eleven year old Andy has found himself in quite the situation. His mother and stepfather are dead and he has now ran away from his aunt because he thinks that she is evil. On top of this, these magical fairy people called Sheehogue are following him everywhere. His aunt told him that his father was alive, even though Andy has been told his whole life that his father died in the war. Andy runs to his father, Vinny. Vinny turns out to a bad father because he smoked and drank all the time, but Andy was determined to stay away from his aunt and tried to change his father’s ways. Later, he realizes Vinny makes promises he can’t keep and that he could never change, so Andy goes back to his aunt.

I finished this book because I wondered if Andy was going to go back to his father at the end. Through the whole time it seemed that Vinny was actually a loving father, but then later on you realize that even though he is loving, he can’t take care of a child.

I picked this book up because my brother read it when he was my age and he said it was interesting.

I don’t know who I would recommend this book to, I didn't really enjoy the book.

[Mishal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part of the reason I got this book to read was because if I didn't pick a seemingly interesting book fast enough, my librarian was going to kill me. She has a rule; when you come to the library, if you don't have a book it kinda gives her the right to swear at you semily. Anyways, this book was surprisingly good. I like how in the end, Andy accepted that this was his life now and didn't try to change it or his father. Overall, it was pretty well written.

[Davida · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel like this book was made for younger people but I consider it a YA book. I read it last year for a school book study project and I thought this book was amazing I'm glad I picked it up. I could picture things in my head and smell the smells. I geuss I didn't really like some parts. But for the most part I liked it

[Cinnamon]

the leprechauns threw me off.