SOLVED. YA Post-apocalyptic fiction: Children at a River, they don't grow up. [s]

[Sara]

Hi guys,
I'm looking for a young adult book I read as a child. That was about 15-20 years ago.
It's about an isolated group of children, that don't become adults. The protagonist has to leave her society though, because one of their vital machines broke down (water treatment?).
The plot reveals that the children live in an atomically contaminated world. All adults died during this catastrophe, but they were able to develop medicine that saved the children, but also kept them in a prepubertal state.
Now the girl that left to get help finds out that her group isn't as alone in their world as they thought. Some civilization and some adults still remain. It is an agricultural community with some remains of modern technology left.
In this community the heroine gets cut of from her medicine and starts to become and adult.
This is most of the plot, but I don't remember how it ends.

The name is something like "Lisa and the Children of the River". I'm quite sure about the "Lisa" since it's my sisters name. But I read in German, so it can be completely different in English.

The cover was a typical painted cover of the 90s like the "Famous Five" covers. It was a girl on a raft as far as I remember. But again it could be very different in the English version.
The book didn't have that many pages. Maybe 200. But it was hardcover.

It would be great if someone could help me find it.

[Rainbowheart]

I can't read German, but one of these, maybe?

https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=ti%...

[Sara]

Rainbowheart wrote: "I can't read German, but one of these, maybe?

https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=ti%..."

Thank you Rainbowheart, unfortunately none of these is what I am looking for.

[Ingo]

As I am German, I tried to find it in German, but did not.
Then I tried the Google "adult dead radiation river children book",
and in 2bd link of the articles
best dystopian booksI found The Girl Who Owned a City - by O.T. NELSON, 1975.
The Girl Who Owned a City

No mention of a river in the description, though!
The girl is 12, and is named Lisa.
Different editions are listed at Amazon with 125 pages and 198 pages. Also, Paperback published 2012, so there was enough interest in the book to keep it current. Also as a Graphic Novel aka Comic, and Kindle - in Germany both currently in Unlimited, so I will take peek into it, before my Unlimited trial runs out.

Also not about radiation, but a deadly virus, and I did not find a German translation, so, ah, well, just another shot in the dark, sorry.

[Sara]

Ingo wrote: "As I am German, I tried to find it in German, but did not.
Then I tried the Google "adult dead radiation river children book",
and in 2bd link of the articles
best dystopian booksI found The Girl ..."

Hi Ingo,
thank you for your help. Unfortunately that's not it either. The world is actually unspecified (not America, but probably Earth) and people alerady forgot about the time before. So no cars, no modern houses, and a whole lot of nature.

[Ingo]

Guessed so, but I have another suggestion, although even less detailed, as it has been too long:
John Christopher
He wrote the Tripods (first two books filmed as a TV-series) and other books. What I am thinking maybe The Guardians or even another book.
The Guardians
Also filmed as a TV-series.
These books where translated in German and I read a few of them in German, and later bought them in English, but have not read them since, so I cannot go into details.
Both the Guardians and the Tripod series had themes of losing all or most of our current technology some rediscovering, some reinventing, maybe different, maybe better.
Guardians had a back to nature feeling about it.

This is only a pointer in a direction, probably again, not the book you are looking for. Maybe a list with "Guardians" might help find your book.

[Sara]

Ingo wrote: "Guessed so, but I have another suggestion, although even less detailed, as it has been too long:
John Christopher
He wrote the Tripods (first two books filmed as a TV-series) and o..."

Thanks again. I will look into it.

I get the feeling that my book is rather obscure and VERY European. No aliens, no opressors, no war or fighting, no weapons, a lot of rather reasonable people. :D

[Rainbowheart]

Are you sure Lisa was in the German title? Seems odd it's not coming up. I even tried Lise as an alternate spelling, but still nada.

[Andria]

In case you're mixing up details, here's this: Beyond the Dark River. I don't think all the adults are dead but it's post-nuclear war and has a native girl seeking medicine. It was published in German as "Hinter dem dunklen Fluss" in 1989.

[Sara]

I found the book! A German group was helping out. It's this one: https://www.amazon.de/Lisa-Tagebuch-N...

I think it's only available in German, so quite hard to find in English. :D

[Rainbowheart]

Awesome, glad you found it!

[Rainbowheart]

I created a Goodreads record for Lisa Tagebuch aus der Nachzeit, so it can be shelved.