Dry
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4.5 • 127 Ratings
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
“The authors do not hold back.” —Booklist (starred review)
“The palpable desperation that pervades the plot…feels true, giving it a chilling air of inevitability.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“The Shustermans challenge readers.” —School Library Journal (starred review)
“No one does doom like Neal Shusterman.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
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.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Neal and Jarrod Shusterman’s survival thriller is terrifying—and impossible to put down—because it feels unnervingly real. One day in the near future, Southern Californians turn on their faucets to find they’ve run completely dry. Within days, quiet neighborhoods become apocalyptic wastelands and neighbors turn on each other for a sip of water. The doomed atmosphere builds slowly, unfurling through the eyes of four very different teenagers who have banded together in their all-out fight to stay alive. As the novel’s characters become increasingly dehydrated and desperate, the best—and worst—comes out. Dry tells a complex, gripping story that raises important questions about human nature and the fragility of society.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In Neal Shusterman (Thunderhead) and son Jarrod's near-future or alternate-present America, a prolonged drought ("the Tap-Out") results in the sudden curtailment of Southern California's water supply. When their parents vanish while seeking desalinated water, 16-year-old Alyssa and 10-year-old Garrett embark on a harrowing journey, searching for their parents and fending for themselves as society deteriorates. Along the way, the siblings pick up three teens: their survivalist neighbor Kelton, unpredictable lone wolf Jacqui, and calculating opportunist Henry. This thriller alternates between the teens' distinct and plausible viewpoints, occasionally supplementing with brief "snapshots" of others (a fleeing family, a news anchor) dealing with the escalating catastrophe. The dynamic core-character relationships are satisfying, and the intersection of their narrative with the snapshots adds depth to briefly glimpsed characters and illuminates the full scale of the disaster. The lack of warning before the long-looming crisis breaks may require some initial suspension of disbelief, but the palpable desperation that pervades the plot as it thunders toward the ending feels true, giving it a chilling air of inevitability. It is also thoroughly effective as a study of how extreme circumstances can bring out people's capacity for both panic and predation, ingenuity and altruism. Ages 12 up.)
Customer Reviews
Society must take note and rise like a Phoenix from the ashes.
Society must take note and rise like a Phoenix from the ashes: 12/10/2021.
This novel published October 2, 2018 is a perfect fit for a now book in a 2021 pandemic stricken nation that is struggling with multiple layers of non-potable stagnation: climate change, ignorance, racism, poverty, government over site, water rights issues, youth issues, gun violence and suicide prevention importance. If we as a common collective of people (our earth society) can learn now that we are heading down a path of great destruction we may be able to stop some most uncomfortable devastation. Or we may have to suffer a slow tortuous journey of dehydration and DRY fires to rise up like a Phoenix from the ashes. Either way: nature vs. humankind will certainly teach us a lesson. Great novel. Very inspiring to be a hero for others misfortunes and to be highly grateful for what we have right now. 🌎🌍🌏 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Dry Book by Jarrod SHUSTERMAN and Neal Shusterman.
My favorite book ever
You will NOT REGRET reading this book, it was so well written and the way the characters were written were awesome and the humor that was put in at exactly the right time made it a fun read. I also liked the way the characters reacted to the crisis and how they were all different but all human in a way that made them seam real. I rate this book five stars and it is by far my favorite book.
An Average Display
I had to read this for school, so of course my image is tainted of it. However, I'm certain the book played into too many overused archetypes and fell behind on the plot because of the characters meant to service it. The most interesting person was Henry, and even then his "wrap-up" left more to be desired.
It was exceedingly average.