Book Review: Dry by Neal Shusterman & Jarrod Shusterman

Dry
by Neal Shusterman
& Jarrod Shusterman
Rating: ★★★★

Published by Walker Books Australia
Publication Date: 1st of October, 2018
Australian RRP: $16.99

The drought 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; neighbours 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.

Dry is the latest novel from Neal Shusterman, author of one of my favourite young adult series Scythe, and his son Jarrod Shusterman! If that isn’t enough to make you want to read it right away this book is all about a very possible and terrifying situation, the expiration of our supply of drinkable water and the decline of society in the time after drinking water becomes a precious resource only few can afford or obtain. With the drought becoming dire more restrictions are put in place until one day the taps are turned off in an effort to preserve the supply. Suddenly the small amount of water in people’s homes is all they have left and the stores are clearly quick to run out of water and even worse, the prices of the remaining supply rise and violence ensues.

This book started off similar to the great writing style of Neal Shusterman’s Scythe series because it grabbed my attention just like those books and kept my eyes glued through the immersive set-up and harrowing idea. Unfortunately, before I had made it halfway through the book I started struggling to keep all the characters in line in my head and the plot started to spiral a little for me. I still enjoyed reading it and the time flew by when I was but I wasn’t as glued to it compared to the start of this book. The main reason for that I think was because while the premise of the plot still remained a strong idea, ultimately the characters didn’t rise up to that.

However, the characters are not the most important storytelling factor as the overall story of how humanity struggles in a time of great distress and chaos was still entirely convincing and fascinating. I loved the description that went into the desperation for water as people fought for every drop or were pushed into horrible decisions to protect themselves or loved ones. This scenario is entirely possible and that is what makes it so daunting to read. As a reader you can imagine yourself in their position very easily so that still makes for a fantastic and compelling story with a terror factor as well. After reading this book you might think to yourself, what would you do if the taps went dry? 

(Thank you to Walker Books Australia for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Dry is out now in Australia!)

Goodreads Updates

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Walker Books, Dry
Purchase links – Booktopia // Dymocks // QBD

Click here to add this book to Goodreads
– Kirra // Goodreads