3.5 stars

Inland by Kate Risse is speculative fiction taking place after parts of the US have been overtaken by climate crisis and flooding. There are also other speculative elements at play throughout such as mobile phones being eradicated due to (what seems like) propaganda and fear-mongering, making communication during this disaster very limited.

Juliet and Martin are both married (to other people) and their families live next door to each other. They are separated from said families due to an extra-marital trip that occurs at the same time as the floods. Juliet's son, Billy, is home by himself and doesn't know where his father and brother are, or that there has even been a disaster until he emerges from the family's basement. Juliet allowed Billy to keep his phone when the rest were surrendered if he agreed to keep it hidden and it is now the only connection he has to his mother. The narrative switches first-person perspectives between Juliet, travelling with Martin to try to get home, and Billy, who finds company against his will after a lot of nagging with Martin's daughters who are also home alone.

Inland is essentially a boiling pot of tension: between Juliet and Martin about how they will explain their whereabouts, between Juliet and Billy as limited phone signal leaves a lot of room for misunderstanding, between Billy and Martin's family who he feels are hiding something. This is all compounded on top of each character's stress over the recent events and fear for the future. The author did a great job of showing how this kind of stress effects everyone differently (some will close of, some will seek to help others, some will get angry, etc.) and Juliet and Martin cross paths will people from all along this spectrum on their journey. I like the balance of plot-driven and character-driven elements and I think in that regard this is a great example of what makes speculative fiction different to dystopians.

A couple of things I really struggled with was the switching perspectives and the choices characters made in an attempt to stretch the story further. It's really important to me when I'm reading different first-person perspectives that each character has a unique voice and it is easily identifiable. I don't feel like the author's voice changed when writing for Juliet and Billy bar a few instances where Billy's speech/thoughts seemed to be intentionally youthful. I also felt really frustrated because Juliet and Martin kept making stupid and unrealistic decisions which served no other purpose than stoking drama and making their journey longer. Sure, it can be argued that you don't know what decisions you'd make in life-or-death circumstances until you're in it, but it definitely felt forced to me.

Overall I think this book has a lot of promise! It would also be a good introduction to speculative fiction as it's really easy to follow.

*Inland* by Katie Risse is a compelling tale of resilience and survival in the face of climate catastrophe. Set in a future where the Eastern Seaboard is submerged due to catastrophic flooding, the story follows Juliet and Martin as they struggle to reunite with their children amidst rising seas and societal collapse. Risse masterfully captures the emotional depth of her characters while exploring themes of human connection, technological reliance, and environmental impact. With vivid prose and a gripping narrative, *Inland* is a thought-provoking exploration of hope and endurance in a warming world. A must-read for fans of climate fiction.

This one, as the saying goes, has good bones. The alternating perspectives format is really having a moment right now, and this is the kind of story it’s made for. Yes, the story takes place during a near-future cataclysmic wipeout of the entire East coast - but it’s not sci-fi, or even really about climate change or environmental politics per se. The heart of the drama is two people (and eventually more who make communication even harder to achieve) attempting to communicate in a non-synchronous format (sporadically available text messages) through mistaken assumptions, misinformation, fear, shame, and just good old fashioned talking past each other.

The real brilliance is that, unlike most alternating POV stories which either show the same scene from both perspectives or have one narrator pick up where the other left off, this author lets us see the context in which the same texts were sent and received. The sender and recipient, each in the midst of their own struggles to survive and not sure when they will lose access, each take for granted a vast array of knowledge and context to which the other party has no access. I promise you will gasp when Juliet finally asks how high the water is - and hopefully you will take a closer look at how you communicate with your loved ones and colleagues.

It is only a very minor spoiler to warn you that many questions will be left unanswered at the end - but that’s as expected in a story about failure to communicate.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

This book kept me frantically reading. Disasters are so real to me and they can happen anytime, so this kind of books always trigger me.
There are unclear issues and moments in the book, which definitely need a good editing and smoothing out, but overall it was a good story, which may become even better if edited properly.
Mother and son's messaging drove me crazy, most of the time it was totally unsubstantial, why? They could have clarified the current situation with two sentences, though they kept texting anything, but what is important. This drove me crazy.
Billy and Martin's daughters acted totally their age or even younger, but maybe this is due to the shock of the flood?
There were strange things that I never understood their role in the book - what about Naiomi and her baby? What happened to Juliet's husband Tom and her other son, I forgot his name? What about the teacher, who asked Billy to evacuate with him? What happened next, the ending of the book was sudden for me and there were issues to be clarified still.

Unfortunately, I had to DNF this one. I feel reading it as an actual book I would have lasted a little longer as the premise is ok and you’re definitely thrown straight into the action. I just found the narrator of the audio book insufferable - the voices and cadence are so jarring and overwrought. No matter what speed I tried I just couldn’t keep listening.

Well now, that is one heck of a story! Full of angst and concern, I enjoyed this thrilling story of survival.

While I did really enjoy the story, the ending left me kind of empty. I wanted to see more of what the future holds.

Thank you #NetGalley #Inland

In her stunning debut, Kate Risse takes us to a near-future America ravaged by climate change in Inland, a haunting and thought-provoking tale of survival, resilience, and the fragile connections that bind us.

Set in 2026, the story follows Juliet, Martin, and Billy as they navigate the flooded ruins of a once-thriving nation. Their intertwined journeys highlight not only the physical toll of a changing environment but also the emotional and societal costs of humanity’s inaction. Risse skillfully examines the double-edged role of technology in survival and the unyielding strength of human relationships when pushed to the brink.

The vivid, almost cinematic descriptions of a drowned America are both chilling and poignant, immersing readers in a world that feels unsettlingly possible. This is not just a dystopian tale; it’s a wake-up call wrapped in a deeply human story.

I thought the concept of this book was fascinating and had such potential, however I was unfortunately very disappointed. I didn’t find any of the characters likeable so I didn’t particularly care what happened to them. I don’t think certain parts were explained properly and I didn’t like the narrator.

thank you to netgalley, author -kate risse, narrator rachel fulganiti, and victory editing for providing me with the audiobook in exchange for a review.
i loved this book. it felt like the disaster YA books i used to love but grown up and real because i read it as a floridian. an interesting one to add to your hurricane reads.
engaging perspectives and storylines that i couldn’t stop listening to.

I liked this one so much that I snagged it a second time, which probably was not your intention. I should have left this alone.
I love all the different perspectives in this book. I don't just mean our main characters either. It is a good story about how people handle disaster.

I have a ton of thoughts about this one. I loved the narration. I was a little annoyed by the whole "oh that cell phone will kill you." Like anyone would actually care. They could make heads explode and we would still keep them. But in this story smartphones are banned but people wish they could have one to keep in touch during a natural disaster, which maybe happened because of smartphones.
We all know how selfish we are as a society, but in this book most people aren't selfish like that.
It was good though. Loved the ending.

The concept of this book is awesome. The story falls flat. The decisions made by the characters are simply wrong. The dialogue is written on a 5th grade level.