Providence

The swift currents of change sweep families together and apart in this uninteresting near-future sequel to Accidental Child. The novel tracks the coming-of-age of Cobalt, a child who follows his father through a time slide. They both land in Providence, R.I., but the slide deposits them eight years apart, in 2040 and 2032. Cobalt is adopted into a family with another orphaned boy, Harry, but that doesn’t spell an end to his troubles. Sea levels have been steadily rising, and storms devastate the city. Families flee inland hoping to escape the brutal encroachment of the ocean. By chance, Cobalt encounters Teresa, the daughter of another refugee from his own time, who eventually falls in love with Harry. As Cobalt grows up, he spots a familiar face in the city: his biological father, Slate, who wants to save Providence from the floods. Despite the “change or die” dictum of climate disasters, the characters feel uninspired. Douglass writes well about the conflicts and pressures of found families, but the story sinks under the weight of too many unsatisfying subplots. (BookLife)