Dry by Neal Shusterman

Dry 

Synopsis

When the California drought escalates to catastrophic proportions, one teen is forced to make life and death decisions for her family in this harrowing story of survival.

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; neighbors 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.

Review

This book was terrifying. Not because of crazy jump scares or mysterious murders or vengeful ghosts knocking salt shakers off of tables. Oh no no no. The scariest part was seeing how easily people abandon their morality for the prospect of survival. 

I don't know when you're reading this but while I am writing this I am currently practicing "social-distancing" and adhering to California state's "shelter in place" order. A microscopic particle has completely immobilized society. The stock market has all but crashed, hospitals are overcrowded, and the possibly the most surprising of all, toilet paper has become America's hottest product on the market. Jokes aside this is a scary time. One that will go down in history. And scarily similar to this book. 

I was listening to a try guys podcast the other day and Zach, the cutest in the group, brought up a really good point about how tragedies affect society. He pointed out that if the Earth was invaded by aliens and they landed, for example, in Ireland, instead of uniting against a common enemy the threat may lead to greater division. Countries would close their borders in order to protect their citizens. People would start to fear their neighbors. Chaos and disorder would run rampant through the streets. And I agree with him. So often we look at how tragedies bring people together, which does happen, but in doing so we completely overlook the distrust and violence and hate that got us to that point. 

Dry is a deep reflection on what it means to be human and what it takes to lose whatever it is that makes us us. Our main gang, Alyssa, Kelton, Jacqui, Garret, and Henry were all complex and I felt like I could relate to all of them at one point or another. Or were just fascinating to read about. Not gonna lie Henry gave me the heebee jeebees but I can't say he wasn't smart. Even the characters outside the gang! Each and every character is 3-dimensional fully fleshed out HUMAN. The lady stuck on the freeway who purified washer fluid and formed a functional commune in the middle of the freeway. The two ruffians who stole their car and seemed like the devil incarnate. Everyone had their own story, their own motivations and goals, and values which I really appreciated. Too often I feel like, especially in movies, no offense, we accept that the villains are evil because that's how they were born or that's just how they inherently are and I think this comes from a very narrow outlook on life. If you only ever see things from your perspective then, of course, the lady who cut in front of you in line that time in the mall or that totally lame guy told you that your make up looks "cakey" seem like total jerks but if you take a second to consider what may have caused them to do those things and how often you are that person to someone else you see that inherent goodness or badness don't really exist. People are fluid. Their character changing with every decision they make but at our core, we are all the same. 

Overall, I loved this book. It was compelling, thought-provoking, and masterfully written. I read this weeks ago and I am still thinking about it and I don't doubt the same will true years from now. 

Rating

5/5