Dry

Written by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman

Narrated by Neal Shusterman, Jarrod Shusterman, Jenni Barber and 3 more

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 from New York Times bestselling author Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman.

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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
• Release date: Oct 2, 2018
• ISBN: 9781508263098

Neal Shusterman

Neal Shusterman is the New York Times bestselling author of more than thirty award-winning books for children, teens, and adults, including the Unwind dystology, the Skinjacker trilogy, Downsiders, and Challenger Deep, which won the National Book Award. Scythe, the first book in his series Arc of a Scythe is a Michael L. Printz Honor Book. He also writes screenplays for motion pictures and television shows. Neal is the father of four, all of whom are talented writers and artists themselves. Visit Neal at StoryMan.com and Facebook.com/NealShusterman.

[Al Prince · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I was nearly in tears at the ending- over the course of the story I grew to love all of the characters an incredible amount (excluding our resident Bad Guy, of course, but he was written so well and so despicably I hate him an extreme amount). Also, the authors got the setting completely right, as someone who lives in California. Well, ignoring the terrifying bits with the Tap-Out and such.

[Al Catoe · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

BEST BOOK EVER!! I ESPECIALLY LIKED THE ENDING. Especially the music

[auntieg0412 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

What would I do if the taps suddenly ran dry, and no water was to be had anywhere? We all got a taste of store mayhem during The Great Toilet Paper Shortage of 2020, and that was involving something that wasn’t essential to life. If it had been water everyone was after? I have a few things to think about now ...

[Kimberly NeSmith · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Okay, the narration was absolutely amazing.
Oh man okay so I have issues with the story but with an ending like that, it’s so hArd to rate this below a 5 stars.
I did love this book, but the characters oh man oh man. I had mixed feelings, like, one was incredibly annoying, but in all honesty, it kind of made them feel real. Although I couldn’t stand it whenever that person talked, the other characters really carried the weight of the annoying one. These characters feel raw and the voices behind them felt so real. I constantly felt as though I was there and it frightened me a bit. I can’t look at water the same anymore lol
I’m general, I enjoyed this book even if it had its few problems and even if I couldn’t stand one character.
The end tho. Oh man the end. It’s a beautiful story with a beautiful message, but if you’re reading something as to find out what would happen if the water went out, this is definitely to the extreme. But still, a super good story!
I enjoyed this book and I think it’s worth pushing through that one character. :)

[v rogers · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I liked how Jaqui ended up becoming someone more and henry being a liar.

[Kellie Mc Carthy · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book skips 222 - 230. Otherwise it's ? ;)

[Stella Penney · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

So unbelievably addicting! I’m glad I read it through.

[Svenja Fredeweß · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Brutal real und verstörend echt! Sehr Empfehlenswert und hoffentlich ein Weckruf.

[Mindy · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Amazing full cast narration and a great story of survival.

[Tabby Moore · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Amazing. Read this with a tall glass of water. If you live in the American Southwest, this will definitely strike a cord.

[Christian Yang · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It was very thrilling and horrifyingly realistic, I couldn't stop listening to it! Also, the changing povs and respective narrators were a nice touch

[steven scheuing · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Stellar book, I really enjoyed listening. Thought provoking and timely

[Barby Chapterbychapter · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I gave this book 3.5 stars.
Dry is a dystopian book about California City running out of water. We follow a group of characters and how they live the situation and all the things they do to survive.
I felt a little weird while reading this since honestly what will we do if we run out of water? And it made me think of all of the times we simply waste it, just because its there and we dont think it will ever not be, but what if? so the book is full of this what ifs and what people will be willing to do in order to get some to survive. To be honest, I wont say I was surprised by the characters actions, I think its totally possible humans will do what was described on the book and it made me scared, but it also made me consider what things we can do to never be on that place for real.

Going back to the book, there are some things I didn´t quite liked, the end seemed a little bit rush, from one moment to the other the situation was over and everybody was trying to cope with their actions, if the book was going to be about running out of water I would have loved to see more awareness on the issue. Another thing was that I could not really connect with most of the characters and their ends felt incomplete for me.

I heard the audiobook version and it was a great narration with many characters, so I would recommend going with that format, and also, keep a glass of water with you, because you will be thirsty...

[yassina marie Barreto · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved the full cast narrative . This is one of them stories that you find entertaining, yet has you shaking your head because the whole thing seems so far fetched. its mainly about a group of kids trying to survive a water outage "the Tap out" I couldn't help but keep thinking ummm you can do a million things for water including leave Calif lol. it's a good book deff worth a read and would probably be even more entertaining to pre-teens.

[The last númenóren · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book had me on edge the whole time I was listening to it was a journey I'm happy I took

[shmuel · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Post apocalyptic with the usual tropes, though with a bit more attention to detail and minutiae. Wildly unlikely.

[Jess Searcy · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Very realistic post-apocalyptic scenario. Loved it. Hard to put down.

[Jeffrey Nattania · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Can not understand. I can't understand why this book did not get better reviews than I expected. I loved this book, and being a fan since Challenger Deep, these two writers have done nothing but enlighten and entertained my classes and myself. I loved this and and recommend for any YA reader!

[dairyqueen84 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Devastating. Shusterman brings to vivid life what it might be like to live without water, even for just a week. It made me rethink my consumption habits, not just of water itself, but of the water requirements for the food we eat like pistachios and almond milk and how much of our food supply comes from California. Hitting a little too close to home right now with the pandemic crisis but a hard-to-put-down book.

[dawnlovesbooks · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Imagine what you would do if all of a sudden there was no water. Can you imagine the kind of panic the world would be in if they didn't have water? This book explores just that from the point of view of four young people who are thrown together because of the crisis.

"If people feel a threat to their lives they'll exercise any option they have."

"It feels to me like the world has torn in two and we're traveling the seam of that fear. That chasm between was and what will be. We're no longer part of any world."

"Grief can twist people in ways they're not supposed to twist."

"People are monsters." "Sometimes you have to be a monster to survive."

"Morale is everything in difficult times- it's the only thing that can keep stress from becoming toxic."

In spite of everything they went through, hope bound them together. "And joy. And a wellspring of all the things that still might me."

[RocioAnahi · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Neal Shusterman's books are slaps to the status quo. Of all the ones I have read from this author, I think this one has the happiest ending, but it is impossible to go through his narrative without rethinking many things about your own life. If you don’t like questioning yourself, don’t read it; if you don’t like laughing with books full of drama and anguish, don’t read it... but if you want to learn to rethink perspectives and take a deep breath while making a new choice of paths, this is your guy. Now I will leave you, I'm going to drink liters and more liters of water. (Translated from Spanish)

[sarah220-732610 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The drought in California has gotten severe and then Arizona cuts off access to the Colorado River and all the taps are dry. The great "Tap-Out" is initially not taken seriously by FEMA who is dealing with a hurricane on the East Coast. After all, footage of a hurricane is a lot more interesting than a bunch of thirsty people.

This book follows several different characters and switches the 1st person POV between them. I found myself having to look back to see which character I was following because the voices weren't quite different enough. Despite the confusion, the book is a compelling read as the characters deal with one crisis after another in search of enough water. The authors did a good job of showing all the different things people will do in a crisis and in a fight for survival. A good read that will motivate you to take shorter showers. Or become a doomsday prepper. And have a bottle of water nearby while reading.

[hccpsk · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Books present a great opportunity to explore social and political issues, and environmental books have seen a real surge in recent years. Dry by Neal Shusterman delves deep into water scarcity when the southwestern United States experiences the “Tap-Out”--no water. Alyssa and her 10-year-old brother Garrett become separated from their parents, and join up with prepper neighbor, Kelton, and a couple of other teens in a quest to find water. Shusterman is a powerhouse YA writer, and Dry demonstrates all of his writing and storytelling skills. Teens looking for an adventure novel that explores the environment, mental health, friendship, and survival will definitely enjoy Dry. (A warning for younger and more sensitive readers--Dry contains realistic violence, guns, and frightening situations.)

[AbrahamLeVero · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

But
Without Spoilers

This book can be easily read; the different perspectives of the characters and their dialogues are appropriate to their evolution throughout the chapters. The author knows how to trap his characters with increasingly difficult obstacles, to the point of being cruel; however, the ending, in my opinion, could fit better in another genre. Additionally, I would ask for a little more explanation (to each their own). Would I read it again despite that? Of course, the characters are endearing, and that's enough to relive the adventure.

As a conclusion, this book left me with a foreboding of how people will become monsters over a drop of water.

Abraham. (Translated from Spanish)

[kimmeyer-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a plot driven story about a California where the drought has turned into an absolute lack of water. It centers around a group of teenagers who act and think like teenagers, although I didn't find them annoying, and it explores the choices they make when faced with unthinkable situations. It was really interesting and fun!

[annawaffles · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Oof. This was not the best time for me to read this book, but when I saw it on the shelf I kind of had to. But... oof.

[lflareads · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Excellent novel showing the result of a “tap out”. Garrett and Alyssa join forces to find water after their parents disappear. They fear the worst has happened and battle for survival looking for safe water. You will find yourself yearning for a drop of water with each turn of the page! #middleschoolela #yareads #middleschool #booklove #iteach7th #7thgrade #nealshusterman

[ewyatt_16 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

When the tap out happens and water goes from scarce to gone in southern California, Alyssa and some other teens work together to try to survive in an increasingly dangerous world of scarcity. Compelling page-turner. It almost reads dystopian, but it is close to reality.

[mrnattania72 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Can not understand.
I can't understand why this book did not get better reviews than I expected. I loved this book, and being a fan since Challenger Deep, these two writers have done nothing but enlighten and entertained my classes and myself. I loved this and and recommend for any YA reader!

[kimpiddington · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Used to live in So Cal, this one gave me nightmares!