The ongoing interest in dystopian books has students wanting more of the thrilling genre. If this genre is for you, I would highly recommend Dry by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman. This book involves both making impossible choices and survival. There are life-or-death decisions that are made and will keep you on the edge of your seat.
In Dry, 16-year-old Alyssa Morrow, her 10-year-old brother Garret, and their neighbor Kelton McCraken go on a journey in search of Alyssa and Garrett’s parents as they were in search of water due to the “tap out.” The tapout is what everyone calls a drought. Water has become scarce in southern California, so having good water is not taken for granted. While searching for their parents, they meet 2 people: Jacqiu and Henry who are also in search of something else. They all work together, trying to survive with limited water, and face difficult challenges that may cost them their life.
In my opinion, Dry was an amazing book, definitely one of my personal favorites. Once I started reading, I was thirsty for more. I couldn’t put it down, as I found the characters very relatable and understand Alyssa’s need to look for and find her parents. I understood Alyssa’s point of view completely because I also have a little brother just like her, and she needed to take care of her brother when no one else could, refusing to let him die of thirst. Mollie Hall, a student at West Branch, stated, “I really liked the book. Even though we had to read it for school, I would have optionally read it just for fun.”
While reading, you will realize how lucky you are to have such a simple but precious thing needed to survive (water). It teaches you to have gratitude for the thoughtless necessities in life and how much they are taken for granted.
