Dry by Neal Shusterman & Jarrod Shusterman – Book Review

Dry by Neal Shusterman & Jarrod Shusterman – Book Review

Dry Book cover by Neal Schusterman and Jarrod Schusterman

Dry

Author – Neal Shusterman & Jarrod Shusterman
Publisher – Walker Books
Pages – 416
Released – 4th October 2018
ISBN-13 – 978-1406386851
Format – ebook, paperback, hardcover, audio
Reviewer – Nia
Rating – 4 Stars
I received a free copy of this book.
This post contains affiliate links.

 

When the California drought escalates to catastrophic proportions, one teen is forced to make life and death decisions 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; 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.

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This is a really well written title with a rock solid premise – California has run out of water. Everyone sort-of knew it was coming but was sure that there would be some plans in place to make sure that nobody would suffer once the taps stopped working, this was their biggest mistake.

The story follows to lives of a group of kids from very different backgrounds and how they cope in this disaster. Alyssa and her brother, Garett, are from a normal suburban household and weren’t prepared for this at all but they adapt well to the situation while Kelton, their next door neighbour is from a doomsday prepping family. In their search for safety and water, they meet a couple of other teens who I felt weren’t as well developed as characters so I struggled to sympathise with them.

The book flips perspectives between the characters, which is something I love – seeing the same story through the eyes of everyone involved.

I enjoyed the first 2/3 of this book much more than the ending, I would have much rather there had be a sequel and the story ended in a more satisfying way than the current ending that I felt was a bit rushed and left too many loose ends. That said, I have read other books by the author Neal Shusterman and hold him to a very high standard so I might just be being picky here…

Book Reviewer – Nia


Purchase online from:

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About the Authors

Neal schusterman

Award-winning author Neal Shusterman grew up in Brooklyn, New York, where he began writing at an early age. After spending his junior and senior years of high school at the American School of Mexico City, Neal went on to UC Irvine, where he made his mark on the UCI swim team, and wrote a successful humor column. Within a year of graduating, he had his first book deal, and was hired to write a movie script.

As a screen and TV writer, Neal has written for the “Goosebumps” and “Animorphs” TV series, and wrote the Disney Channel Original Movie “Pixel Perfect”. Currently Neal is developing an original TV series with his son, Jarrod, and adapting Tesla’s Attic with co-writer Eric Elfman for TV as well.

Wherever Neal goes, he quickly earns a reputation as a storyteller and dynamic speaker. Much of his fiction is traceable back to stories he tells to large audiences of children and teenagers — such as his novel The Eyes of Kid Midas. As a speaker, Neal is in constant demand at schools and conferences. Degrees in both psychology and drama give Neal a unique approach to writing. Neal’s novels always deal with topics that appeal to adults as well as teens, weaving true-to-life characters into sensitive and riveting issues, and binding it all together with a unique and entertaining sense of humor.

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Jarrod Schusterman

Jarrod Shusterman is the author of the short story “UnDevoured” in bestselling UnBound. He writes for film and television, and his talents extend to directing films and commercials. He was the story producer on the television movie Zedd—Moment of Clarity, and he and his father Neal Shusterman are adapting Dry for the screen. Jarrod lives in Los Angeles but enjoys traveling internationally, and is currently studying Spanish.


Share your thoughts on Dry in the comment section below!


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12 Responses

  1. Emma Mane says:

    This looks good. Nice review.

  2. Alyssa Cohen says:

    I 100% agree with your opinions. I reviewed this book in September and definitely liked the first part better than the second part. Great review!!

  3. Ruby @ Ruby's Books says:

    Great review! This sounds like an interesting read, and the premise is very unique. I’m glad you enjoyed it, even if the ending wasn’t quite like what you wanted it to be.

  4. Lixa says:

    Nice review. This looks awesome

  5. ooh I need to read this. We will be starting water restrictions in Australia soon. I love strories about preppers.

  6. Great that you thought the same. Thanks.

  7. Thanks. It certainly does.

  8. Gosh, must be hard when they restrict the water, though you are probably used to it by now.

  9. Finitha Jose says:

    Not the one for me I think. But loved reading the review