Book Review: Dry by Neal Shusterman & Jarrod Shusterman (3/5 Stars)

Read If You Like: Thrillers, YA High School/Middle School, End of the world novels, First person narration

This is Book is Good For: A Class on Environmentalism, A gift to your in-law that doesn’t believe in global warming, For when you need to convince someone not to move to California

Dry is a science fiction, YA thriller that follows siblings Alyssa and Garrett along with their disaster ready next-door neighbor Kelton as they struggle to survive during a drought in southern California that quickly becomes a National disaster. The Tap-Out is a terrifying scenario that seems eerily realistic in the modern era, which adds to the potency of the book. I thought the scenario was interesting and the plot points the authors chose throughout the book kept me turning the pages, although the sweet spot of the novel was the definitely middle. I was not impressed by the end.

I had trouble getting invested at first but continued reading because I was interested in the concept. Alyssa and Garrett were okay characters, but not incredibly impressive or original. Neither one was particularly appealing to me and Alyssa kind of irritated me at times, although I do understand that she’s young. Garret was the most likable character by far and his childishness made sense given the situation. His…