This harrowing adventure focuses on Young Adult characters,
but the book can equally be read by adults. The timeless
notion of society grinding to a halt in some way comes into
sharp focus with a vast DRY spell. California's almond
farms are long dead as the story starts, and the states up
the Colorado River suddenly shut the reservoir gates.
Today the mighty Colorado is shared out among several states
and in many years, no longer makes it to the sea at the Gulf
of Mexico. As the story begins, not long into the future,
Alyssa's family hear on the news that the 'Tap-Out' has
begun. They live in civilised suburbia -- with brown yards
instead of lawns. Frivolous use of water has been illegal
for some months. Now Alyssa realises that her classmate
Kelston and his prepper family were right all along -- if
somewhat unwelcome for their over the top attitude. They've
got water in a tank, a generator, food stores, and weapons.
The weapons are needed to hoard the water.
Society quickly becomes chaotic, and parents might wish to
use their judgement about whether to buy this book for young
readers. With families scattered and laws disregarded,
threats becomes real, shops are emptied, and roads are
clogged with abandoned cars. FEMA will be on the way. But
with a hurricane lashing the east coast and forest fires
searing the west, can they provide supplies to the whole of
California?
I fond the book scary and chilling at times, but at other
times, I just admired the courage and resourcefulness of the
teenagers and their friends. The authors Neal Shusterman and
Jarrod Shusterman have followed the rule of giving us
characters to support, ones who feel real and engage our
emotions. Some characters make better choices than others,
but all have limited information. The sheltered Alyssa will
have to grow up fast while Kelston is going to have to ask
himself if he really believes his family are shepherds of
society, not wolves. As this is set in America, expect
firearms to make an appearance.
DRY shows an all too possible and scary future. Let's
conserve the water we have.
When the California drought escalates to catastrophic
proportions, one teen is forced to make life and death
decisions for her family in this harrowing story of survival
from New York Times bestselling author Neal
Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman.
The drought—or the Tap-Out, as everyone calls it—has been
going on for a while now. Everyone’s lives have become an
endless list of don’ts: don’t water the lawn, don’t fill up
your pool, don’t take long showers.
Until the taps run dry.
Suddenly, Alyssa’s quiet suburban street spirals into a
warzone of desperation; neighbors and families turned
against each other on the hunt for water. And when her
parents don’t return and her life—and the life of her
brother—is threatened, Alyssa has to make impossible choices
if she’s going to survive.
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