Pádraig Kenny, Walker Books, (240p) ISBN: 9781529517804. Middle Grade, NetGalley read 12/02/25, Electronic Format ★★★★☆

After

I’ve loved everything I’ve read of Pádraig’s ever since Tin and Round Rob.

The world has died and Father and Jen are travelling to find Tranquility Lake, an ideal spot to stop and set up ‘home’, but there are secrets being kept and one of those is what actually happened at the end of the world.

Father is a mek, but one that looks like a human and travels with Jen who was found by Father alone in a crib and has raised her along with the help of a book on parenting.

This was a great read, I was certainly begrudging having to pause reading it to return to the shop floor and was so looking forward to my breaks and lunch today to find out where this journey was going.

I love how Pádraig can develop such an exploration about the human condition in such a short tale, and usually the most human person in the story is not the one born human. There is a lot about trust and doing things for ‘the best’, but it also talks about a lot of our current concerns with the mega-rich, the environment, and AI.

A great adventure with great characters that pluck at your heartstrings, if you loved Tin you will love this! and if you haven’t read Tin yet, why not?

I received this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.