Dry by Neal and Jarrod Shusterman Review

Title: Dry

Author: Neal and Jarrod Shusterman

Age Group: Teen/Young Adult

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Series: Standalone

Star Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

                I borrowed this book from my local library and reviewed it.

                When I heard that Neal Shusterman was writing a brand-new book with one of his sons, I was so excited! Shusterman is one of my favorite authors, and even though I had to return it to the library a few times, I pushed it straight to the top of my stack when I realized I couldn’t renew it anymore. As soon as I finished How to Fracture a Fairy Tale, I started Dry, and this book blew me away, especially considering how dire the current climate change situation is. Timely, searing, thought-provoking and beautifully written, Dry is one of my favorite books of last year, and I can’t wait to see what this father-son author pairing has up its sleeves next!

                The Tap Out happens, an event that leaves many across the United States without one of its most vital natural resources: water. Alyssa Morrow and her brother Garrett must journey across the country to find their parents, who have gone missing in their quest to find drinkable water. They must team up with their weird doomsday prepper, Kelton, in order to survive. But other obstacles get in their way: water zombies, marauders, fires and rockslides and the utter destruction of human civilization as they know it. Because when things go completely dry, everyone is out to survive, by any means necessary…

This book is hard to describe. I finished it on Monday and I’m still trying to untangle my thoughts to put them down on paper. Part of the reason I picked up this book was because it was about something very important to me and my generation: climate change. That, and the cover was just gorgeous. I didn’t want to return it to the library again without reading it, so I was eager to start it as soon as I was finished with How to Fracture a Fairy Tale.  The pacing was breakneck, and the prose was so compelling that I was spellbound from the beginning. I loved the way that the view point went from Alyssa, to Kelton, to a drifter that they pick up, Jacqui, Alyssa’s little brother, Garrett, and Henry, who uses the disaster to his own ends. Sharp, brutal, thought-provoking and dark, I was neck deep in this book; it lingered in my thoughts even when I wasn’t reading it. I also loved the way the authors were constantly showing both the brutality and altruism of the human race, even in the face of terrible tragedy. What really got me, though, was the ending; my heart was pounding and I was either crying with sadness or ready to rip my hair out, I was so afraid! I loved the way that it ended, on a knife’s edge. I loved this book, and it deserves every single one of its five stars. I cannot wait to see what this dynamic duo has in store for us next! The bottom line: Sharp, brutal, cutting, and thought-provoking, I loved Dry, and it’s become one of my favorite books of 2018! Next on deck: The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Choksi!