I really agree with the review of this book I saw before I read it. It's so in-depth about the relationships the main character has with her brother and with her new friend(/love interest) that it makes it feel so crazyly, insane that by the end of the book you still feel like you know absolutely nothing at all about her.



That said, politics-wise, which it tried to be by the end, I was not all that entertained or finding it believable either. ( )

I really wanted to like this book. The cover is gorgeous but that should have been a give away for me. When the most enticing part of the book is the cover it's quite possible that you are in for a dud of a book.

It seemed as though the author was not sure who he was writing for, children or adults, and because of that the book really fell flat. The main characters were flat and the bad guys were far too one dimensional.

I only finished this book because I wanted to see if it would get any better. It didn't. The ending felt thrown together and all too convenient. ( )

The Beginning: The lead into the story was gripping, a dystopian society where the people who controlled the water were the ones who ruled. We were introduced to three characters, The narrator, Vera, Will, her brother and Kia.

The Middle: Things got a bit muddled for me along the way. Quite a few new characters were introduced in quick succession and it seemed as though everything that could go wrong did go wrong. There was little time to breath and get acquainted with the new characters and little time to feel invested in their future in the book.

The Ending: While a bit more breathing space was allowed, the ending seemed to rush towards me like a raging river. See what I did there, ok, fine, I’ll stop.

Overall: I think a lot of the relationships in this book could have been developed more, the neck breaking pace did not allow for this and that was one of the main things lacking. It’s an nod to the future of a world that misuses it’s resources, something that we can all relate to in some way.

( )

I'm usually ready to suspend disbelief for a good yarn but there were too many things that didn't work - things that were too coincidental, and science that didn't make sense. ( )

This book is set in the future of America, when a shortage of water has caused the fracturing of the nation into competing states. The plot follows Will and Vera, siblings, on the search for a recent acquaintance, Kai. This new friend seems to know the solution for the water shortage, but vanishes in the middle of the night. What unfolds is an action-packed adventure of the two friends as the unravel the mystery of the drought, encounter new friends and villains, and seek to save their friend. The style of this book would definitely appeal to middle school students and to transitional readers. The plot is simple to follow and unfolds quickly, keeping students engaged. I can see this connecting to study of the water cycle, geography, and droughts.