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macypalmerr's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
soapgrace's review against another edition
5.0
GOSH DANG IT I LOVE THIS BOOK. IT'S SO DISTURBING PLEASE READ IT!!!!!!!!
taliatalksbooks's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Dry by Neal and Jarrod Shusterman was a great YA apocalyptic fiction that will have you thirsting for more (pun fully intended). I really enjoyed the way this book took real world problems that California faces and brought them to the forefront as a means of addressing the potential dangers of these problems worsening. I liked the characters and the way they interacted. I also found their personalities and knowledge to be believable and genuine. I think the plot was a bit thin, but in the context, I really liked it. I appreciated that not everything was easy for these characters, but I do feel like their experience with people (given the situation) was a bit too easy at each turn. Their ability to avoid these situations for most of the book felt a bit convenient. All in all I really enjoyed this story and felt like it was well executed as a stand-alone read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
tinysaturn's review
4.0
4.5
Zakonczenie trochę popsuło mi zabawę, uważam, że inaczej można było je pokierować, ale nadal całokształt bardzo mi się podobał i jest to dobra zapowiedź mojego czytelniczego roku 2023!
Zakonczenie trochę popsuło mi zabawę, uważam, że inaczej można było je pokierować, ale nadal całokształt bardzo mi się podobał i jest to dobra zapowiedź mojego czytelniczego roku 2023!
jenpaul13's review against another edition
4.0
Water is vital to the survival of life, but when water is scarce, the survival of humanity hangs in the balance in Dry by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman.
To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.
While everyone in Southern California has been living with a seemingly endless list of "don'ts" regarding water use, the drought they've experienced is nothing in comparison with the Tap Out - when the taps have officially run dry and water becomes the most precious and difficult to find commodity. As Alyssa's usually pleasant suburban neighborhood begins to feel the strain when their meager supply of water runs out, the animalistic side of her neighbors surfaces as they all hunt for the water they need to survive. Struggling to remain optimistic about the situation, Alyssa and her brother Garrett become reliant upon their apocalypse prepper neighbors the McCrackens when their parents don't return home from their trip to desalination machines. Roving through their city to find anything to quench their thirst, Alyssa, Garrett, and Kelton McCracken encounter numerous water zombies and eventually team up with some unlikely allies as they make near impossible choices to ensure their survival.
A compellingly quick read, the narrative provides glimpses into various people's lives, while focusing centrally on Alyssa's family and friends, and how the Tap Out impacts them and their behavior. The characters were generic bases from which to build the overall situation, but as there were perhaps a few too many narrative perspectives offered, characters didn't feel fully developed and instead felt more like placeholders with a few unique identifying traits. The story takes an incredibly real and timely threat and offers readers an opportunity to contemplate the world around them and how their actions play into it as a frightening scenario plays out in the text; the narrative is a thought-provoking cautionary tale for what our future might hold if we, collectively, don't modify our behavior to prevent it from coming into existence.
P.S. I definitely felt a bit guilty consuming plenty of water while reading this.
To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.
While everyone in Southern California has been living with a seemingly endless list of "don'ts" regarding water use, the drought they've experienced is nothing in comparison with the Tap Out - when the taps have officially run dry and water becomes the most precious and difficult to find commodity. As Alyssa's usually pleasant suburban neighborhood begins to feel the strain when their meager supply of water runs out, the animalistic side of her neighbors surfaces as they all hunt for the water they need to survive. Struggling to remain optimistic about the situation, Alyssa and her brother Garrett become reliant upon their apocalypse prepper neighbors the McCrackens when their parents don't return home from their trip to desalination machines. Roving through their city to find anything to quench their thirst, Alyssa, Garrett, and Kelton McCracken encounter numerous water zombies and eventually team up with some unlikely allies as they make near impossible choices to ensure their survival.
A compellingly quick read, the narrative provides glimpses into various people's lives, while focusing centrally on Alyssa's family and friends, and how the Tap Out impacts them and their behavior. The characters were generic bases from which to build the overall situation, but as there were perhaps a few too many narrative perspectives offered, characters didn't feel fully developed and instead felt more like placeholders with a few unique identifying traits. The story takes an incredibly real and timely threat and offers readers an opportunity to contemplate the world around them and how their actions play into it as a frightening scenario plays out in the text; the narrative is a thought-provoking cautionary tale for what our future might hold if we, collectively, don't modify our behavior to prevent it from coming into existence.
P.S. I definitely felt a bit guilty consuming plenty of water while reading this.
bees_keys's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
heidilreads's review against another edition
4.0
This definitely felt like something that could happen...
midtownmoodreader's review against another edition
4.0
Teacher-me loves this as a pairing or replacement for Lord of the Flies.
“...I realize that this is the true core of human nature: When we’ve lost the strength to save ourselves, we somehow find the strength to save each other.”
“...I realize that this is the true core of human nature: When we’ve lost the strength to save ourselves, we somehow find the strength to save each other.”
anteus7's review against another edition
3.0
I love the premise of this book--it's not so far-fetched that Southern California could run out of water leaving too many thirsty people not knowing what to do. The characters all rubbed me a little bit the wrong way, though. I don't think that I would make all of the right decisions in a crisis like that, but there were so many obviously wrong choices that the main characters (all teens ranging from thirteen to nineteen I think) made that it was hard to read past sprains I got rolling my eyes sometimes.
Still, the concept is good, the vignettes (snapshots) work with the story to develop a bigger picture, and the reactions of the general populace to this kind of a catastrophe were believable. I feel like I should get some of my students to read this to see how they like (or dislike) the characters.
Second read update: I still mostly feel the same about the book--the characters don't annoy me as much as before. I did assign this as summer reading for some of my classes, so we'll see what they thought in a couple of weeks.
Still, the concept is good, the vignettes (snapshots) work with the story to develop a bigger picture, and the reactions of the general populace to this kind of a catastrophe were believable. I feel like I should get some of my students to read this to see how they like (or dislike) the characters.
Second read update: I still mostly feel the same about the book--the characters don't annoy me as much as before. I did assign this as summer reading for some of my classes, so we'll see what they thought in a couple of weeks.
tsals's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0