Tuesday, May 10, 2011

The Water Wars by Cameron Stracher

Pages: 240
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Age Group: Young Adult
Challenges: Debut Author Challenge
Release Date: January 1, 2011

Welcome to a future where water is more precious than oil or gold . . .

Hundreds of millions of people have already died, and millions more will soon fall -- victims of disease, hunger, and dehydration. It is a time of drought and war. The rivers have dried up, the polar caps have melted, and drinkable water is now in the hands of the powerful few. There are fines for wasting it and prison sentences for exceeding the quotas.
But Kai didn't seem to care about any of this. He stood in the open road drinking water from a plastic cup, then spilled the remaining drops into the dirt. He didn't go to school, and he traveled with armed guards. Kai claimed he knew a secret--something the government was keeping from us . . .

And then he was gone. Vanished in the middle of the night. Was he kidnapped? Did he flee? Is he alive or dead? There are no clues, only questions. And no one can guess the lengths to which they will go to keep him silent. We have to find him -- and the truth -- before it's too late for all of us.

Stars: 4/5
Cover: A+

I've been wanting to read The Water Wars ever since I heard about it in 2010. I'd heard awaesome things about it, and that it was a good dystopian read. It's a fairly short book, but there are a lot of words on each page, so it does take a lot of time to read.

It started out a little slow, and I wasn't able to dive into Vera's futuristic society as soon in the book as I had hoped. When the story did start picking up, it felt too fast, and a little rushed. It seemed Vera had just met Kai when all of a sudden he is taken away, and she's going on this crazy manhunt for him, risking her life.

Also, when she meets Ulysseus, she goes from being terrified of him to trying to save him way too fast. It was hard for me as a reader to understand or empathize with her fast transition of feelings.

I really, really liked the whole enviornmental theme going on in this book. I thin Stracher provides a good message --- to stop treating our resources like they'll never run out. Vera talks about how her parents can remember things that all of us do today that we take absolute advantage of without a second thought --- things like running under the sprinklers, taking wet showers (Vera has to take something called "dry" showers), and being able to drink water freely, whenever we want.

The cover to this book is absolutely gorgeous! I love the water coming off the eye (almost like eyelashes) and also the way the jacket feels.

Lovely Line:

The Final Verdict:
I would definitely recommend this book to people of all ages. This is one of those books that are scary because it's very possible that Vera's world could be the future Earth. If you're going to read this book, I would suggest keeping a bottle of water around, because you'll need to take some sips of it when you read Stracher's descriptions of the dry world.

FTC: Zoe.

2 comments:

  1. this is one of my all time favorite covers.

    i wasn't as impressed by the inside, but it was a fun read!

    ReplyDelete
  2. This one's still on my wishlist! I hope I can get a copy soon! Sounds like a great read. Haha! Your review is already making me thirsty.

    ReplyDelete

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