What If the Water Ran Dry...?

 Wow. I haven't been hooked on a book like I was on Dry in a long while. I can't say that I am particularly surprised; Neal Shusterman is an exceptional writer. But above this, he holds the title of storyteller (he just knows exactly what to say, when to say it, and how to say it!) Paired with Jarrod Shusterman, this novel is a truly gripping piece of fiction. I simply couldn't put it down. I think the most intriguing part of it may be the curiosity it elicits from it's readers as it asks "what if..." What if Southern California actually did run out of water when its sources were cut off? What if the water in all faucets actually ran dry? What would happen to society? To humanity as we know it? It is an amazingly genius subject for an amazingly written and developed story. I found myself caught up in the subtly complex yet simple prose, engrossed in what the next series of events would bring for characters that found new strength around every unexpected turn. The characters themselves were so well-developed, I couldn't help but also root for the "evil" ones. In a way, every single one of them was "evil" -- or at least had their evil moments. I honestly think that may be what's the most intriguing about this novel: the sense of humanity its characters draw out of its readers. It questions the "good" or "bad" of one's actions when faced with the duty to merely survive. It sheds light on the monstrous things a person will or could do for a drop of water. And it puts the beauty of hope and sacrifice on a pedestal far above the hopelessness of a dry terrain void of the source of life. 


Some of my favorite quotes from this novel:

"...and 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."

"People can be monsters. Whether it's just their actions, or whether it's who they really are, it doesn't matter. The result is the same."

"The worst part about doing something inexcusable is that you can never take it back. It's like breaking a glass. It can't unbreak. The best you can do it sweep it up, and hope you don't step on the slivers you left behind."

"...[s]ometimes doing the right thing means doing the wrong thing first."

"How can you choose the lesser of two evils, when both evils are too great to measure?"

"Wasn't it Jacqui who told us the human body is sixty percent water? Well, now I know what the rest is. The rest is dust, the rest is ash, it's sorrow and it's grief... But above all that, in spite of all that, binding us together... is hope. And joy. And a wellspring of all the things that still might be."

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