A review by chloeluna
Dry by Jarrod Shusterman, Neal Shusterman

adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I’ve read this before years ago and wanted to try the audiobook. It’s just as good and even though I knew the ending, I was tense, grieving, hopeful, and so, so sympathetically thirsty. Listening while it rained outside was a wild experience. I thought to myself “I can just scoop it up and bring it over.” Of course, it’s impossible, and that’s also the point. People don’t pay attention until it’s desperate and by then it’s too late to organize. It’s all politics instead of taking a human perspective, an empathetic and proactive one that actually doesn’t want our planet to destroy itself while we turn a blind eye to what causes it. I hope people read this book and take these lesson to heart. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault

Teen girls are forced to “go with a creep” with heavily implied sexual actions to save their themselves/their families because he is offering water in return. One character is also pinned by a large man with clear intentions but nothing happens and she later doubts herself.