Publisher: Walker Books
Source: Review copy from publisher
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Blurb:
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; 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.
This is my first Neal Shusterman novel, and after reading Dry, I think I will definitely have to pick up more of his novels! I went into the book with average expectations, and wow this book blew me away. The novel was so engaging, gripping and will leave you thinking about it long after you've turned the last page.
The novel centers around the "Tap-Out" where the water has stopped flowing for this town as the resources have run out. The novel shows us the affects of this water crisis through the eyes of Alyssa, her younger brother Garrett, neighbour Kelton, runaway Jacqui and Henry.
The characters in this novel were so well written. I found myself being drawn into each of their narratives and really enjoying the deep dive behind their character this allowed. Alyssa was one of my favourite characters. I really admired her taking charge of her brother after her parents disappeared. Her protective nature towards Garrett was something I could relate to and I really loved their sibling relationship. Kelton was also another favourite. I really enjoyed reading about his parents "doomsday" ready plans and how his family had been preparing for something like this to happen, although when it did actually happen it was different than they had imagined.
The other characters added a real three dimensional aspect to the story as they provided a more rounded view of what this crisis would be like for people from different lives.
I found the novel made me think about not only climate change and its affects on the planet, but also human nature itself. In the novel we see as the crisis continues to go on, that people become increasingly desperate for water and to survive. Often times the need to survive overrides any other sense of morality or emotions a person would usually have. It was both interesting and slightly scary to see just how far everyone must go to survive a crisis such as this.
There were so many twists and turns to the plot as the characters had to keep pushing themselves forward in order to survive. Once I picked up the book in the evening, it was very hard to put down!
Overall a gripping and eye opening story of crisis, strength and just how far one is willing to go in order to survive.
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