Dry is an intriguing novel about the daunting prospect we face here in California. Released in 2018 and set in the near future, Dry follows the story of teen Alyssa and her brother Garrett, along with their neighbor Kelton. In the book, and like real life, California is experiencing a drought, known in-universe as “the Tap-Out”. There are obvious rules like “don’t fill your pools” or “don’t water your lawn”, but in the end, they don’t help. California’s taps are dry. A quaint little neighborhood becomes a battlefield, neighbors becoming mortal enemies as the struggle for water becomes lethal. Alyssa and her family are fine for a while, but they soon run out of water and her parents have to travel to the makeshift desalinization plants at the beach. But when a riot breaks out and her parents don’t return, Alyssa realizes that she must fight on her own if she and her brother will survive. With her brother, doomsday-prepper neighbor Kelton, wild card Jacqui, and the shifty brainiac Henry, a group is formed and they set out to find sanctuary and relief from their thirst. Their goal is a bunker created by Kelton’s family, and along the way, they encounter several obstacles. They navigate a crazed and water-deprived populace, a government sanctuary that isn’t what it seems, and those who protect the little water they have with their lives. Their bunker turns out to be a bust, and the box of water Henry brought along as a last resort turns out to just have been empty and used as a reason to bring him with the group. They realize that without water, their group will die of thirst one by one, so they plan on going to the nearby reservoir. Together, they siege an RV to steal its water as a short-term solution, but in the process the occupants catch Alyssa. As the owners of the RV threaten to take the group’s vehicle and to kill Alyssa, Kelton is forced to intervene and kill the two men. After all this, the protagonists can only save a little bit of water for each before a fire forces them to run away. They continue their journey but end up crashing their truck, and are forced to walk the rest of the way to their destination. As the fire grows, Jacqui leaves the others and runs through the flames to the water, while the rest of the group, spare Henry who ran away after the RV situation, tries to go around. However, they get trapped on a cliff, surrounded by fire. The Shustermans brilliantly infuse suspense into the novel by bouncing between perspectives and they also bring scale to the problem with short side stories that give the reader information about how others are dealing with this apocalyptic situation. One of these other entries sees a pilot of a plane carrying water flying over the fire. The pilot sees the kids trapped on the cliff and ignores his orders, dropping the water and saving the lives of the protagonists. This energizing novel plays out like an action movie, with a slow and steady narrative buildup and exhilarating action, fight scenes, and raw emotions. Dry is a thrilling rollercoaster that is bound to keep the reader hooked and disquiet them with the idea of a disaster so relevant to us.
Lucas H.
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