Title: Breakdown
Description: It is 2084. Nuclear radiation has poisoned the country. Society has fallen apart. Starvation is rampant, and power shortages have resulted in piles of obsolete gadgetry. Necessity has driven those who've survived to complete self-reliance, if they have the means to do so. For Melody and her Nan, survival is just about possible, so long as they can guard the tiny crop of potatoes in their back garden and find enough fuel to cook on - and as long as they are safely barricaded inside their home by curfew. For after dark, feral dogs hunt, and violent gangs from the old Olympic Stadium (now a miserable ghetto) roam to loot and plunder. If they catch you, they are not merciful; so when Melody falls into the hands of Careem's gang, her prospects look bleak. But Careem soon realises that she might just be more valuable alive, as a ransom victim. However, he hasn't reckoned with Melody's resourcefulness. Soon part of his young gang are completely beguiled by Melody and her story of a hidden valley in Scotland - a place that sounds like a comparative paradise, if they can get there. But apparently only Melody knows the way, and only she can lead them there. But Melody is hiding a secret. She has never been to Scotland in her life, let alone a mythically Elysian valley there. Can Melody's stories keep her alive long enough to escape - or will they get her killed?
Subjects: Teen fiction, Storytelling, Survival, Dystopian fiction, Forecasts, Science fiction, Twenty-first century, Young adult works, Children's fiction