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The Blue Book of Nebo

Book
The Blue Book of Nebo by Manon Steffan Ros

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By Manon Steffan Ros

avg rating

18 reviews

Dylan was six when The End came back in 2018; when the electricity switched off, and the world he knew disappeared. Now he’s 14 and he and his mam have survived in their isolated hilltop house above the village of Nebo in north-west Wales, where mother and son confide their experiences and memories in a found notebook – the Blue Book.

Reviews

28 Jul 2024

Highly recommend!
The most amazing, frightening thing about this book is how so true to life it could be. How close are we to The End?
If/when it comes will we be hardened warriors like Rowenna, stoney-faced and cold? Or like Dylan, surviours full of hope, at one with the land?
Both are able to see the joy of losing the old world of screens and manufactured "perfect" lives.
Do I long for the quiet; growing food and reading books?
I hope I don't have to find out what person I truly am at The End.

11 Jun 2024

Dystopia. Nuclear Disaster. Families. Rural Wales. Carnegie Winner 2023.

20 Oct 2023

This was ok but a bit depressing and nothing much really happened. The main character was likeable but I just felt it could have done with a stronger plot.

18 Oct 2023

LynneintheLibrary

Quite an unsettling read but also thought provoking and stats with you

08 Oct 2023

Amazing book - heart-breaking and hopeful at the same time. Also very informative about how to survive a nuclear war!

30 Sep 2023

thecuratesegg

An absolute treat - so sensitively told and a future you could imagine.

11 Sep 2023

I read the English version of this book. I enjoyed this book, I enjoy dystopian fiction which this book is and its being set in rural North Wales made it seem more plausible. In other dystopian fiction I would die very quickly but Rowenna's (Dylan's mum) way of surviving is more realistic and perhaps I could survive.

11 Sep 2023

This is an apocalyptic story about a family. They suffer the after effects of poisoning or radiation. It is a very sad story with no hope.

11 Sep 2023

An interesting dystopian/speculative fiction book set at the end of the world when nuclear bombs have gone off and there seems to be only one family left: the central character and his mother and baby sister. This reminded me in part of bits from 'Z for Zachariah' except from a child's viewpoint rather than an older adolescent's.

10 Sep 2023

Powerful storytelling. Really appreciated how the mother and the children had a narrative that conflicted and revealed a lot about how adults and children see the world.

05 Sep 2023

That ending - I still cannot stop thinking about it...

31 Aug 2023

Moving post-apocalyptic tale told through the eyes of a mother and son as they seek to survive in the remote Welsh countryside.

A small but powerful book, brilliant for teenagers and adults.

21 Aug 2023

It was sad when Dylan's younger sister Mona died.

18 Aug 2023

I like the idea of a post-apocalyptic Earth.

25 Jul 2023

Fantastic post-nuclear story about a single mother and her children trying to survive in a harsh environment. Interesting ideas on how to survive by growing own food and stealing from other people's houses. Some tense moments and heart-breaking scenes, suitable for ages 13+.

27 Jun 2023

What a beautiful book!

The blue book of Nebo is set in post-apocalyptic Wales and is told through a blue diary, written in by a mother-son duo as they survive day by day following a nuclear disaster. They grow their own food and learn to survive without electricity; they spend their days reading and scratching out their living.

🔹This is definitely a YA book (swearing, death, sexual content) and I bought it for my Library which is expanding to include books for Y9+ from September.🔹

I felt the book was sensitively and well-written; it is a thoughtful, emotional view into what life could be like in the wake of a terrible disaster. I smiled and cried. Give it a go.

29 Oct 2022

(English adaptation of the original welsh novella published in 2018 'Llyfr Glas Nebo' by the same author)
reminded me a little of everyone dies famous in a small town.
set in 2026 in a post apocalyptic welsh countryside. Beautifully told, dark in places but gentle and hopeful. Read pretty much in one sitting. Loved the uniquely welsh perspective.

2 fwords. discussion of sex. Adult content.
Age 14+ in our Library

4 out of 5 stars.

14 Sep 2022

I loved this book. Dystopian, suitable for older YAs and adults. Felt realistic even though set in a dystopian present.

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