A dystopian novel about what happens when water becomes scarce. Little detail is given, which left me confused as to how things got the way they were, even though Mr. Zerndt works an explanation into the ending. A quick read. ( )

Somehow I couldn't care about any of the three main characters. Perhaps it was because none of them seemed to have any particularly strong motivations. ( )

This book only took a day and a half of solid reading. According to my Kindle, about 5 1/2 hours. What an interesting read! Normally, I would not find myself so captivated by an apocalyptic type of story, but this played out very real and made me think about a few things, up to and including the concept of how others perceive us, how stories become rumours which may or may not be true, and how reality can play into your definition of hope. Good book from author James Zerndt. ( )

Thomas and his little brother, Dustin are trying to survive. Their parents left them. They were suppose to come back but that was a long time ago. Thomas and Dustin now patrol their neighborhood for anyone illegally using water. If they turn in their neighbors then they get water for themselves. Dustin is starting to remember some of the things about life before the drought. Thomas decides now is the best time to take Dustin on a road trip to find their parents. They are joined by Jerusha.

The hottest genre I would have to say currently is the dystopia genre. Thus I am loving this genre. Books in this genre can be both pre and post apocalyptic. Which I like both ways. However my biggest concern about these books is the character development aspect of them. I do care about the world or background but it is not as important to me as the characters are. I mean the world is about to fall apart of has already been destroyed so there is nothing left but the people. So this is why I say it is very important that I feel a connection with the characters if I am going to go on a journey with them. Well I did feel a connection with Thomas and Dustin. However I was not feeling Jerusha so much. Let me clarify myself. I was not feeling Jerusha as a love interest for Thomas. They seemed more suited as good friends that should stay that way. The ending was a pretty good one, although I did feel like it just ended and I was let with some questions. Luckily the author wrote me and told me that there is a sequel in the works. So I do look forward to continuing the journey with Thomas, Dustin, and Jerusha. You don't really realize how precious water is until you no longer have it and are in need of it. I thought that Mr. Zerndt did a good showing with his first novel. ( )