Where water runs dry and the true nature of neighbors come to life, only one question remains: how does one survive a waterless apocalyptic society without dying? In “Dry” by Neal Shusterman, join the main protagonists -Alyssa, Garrett and Kelton – as they attempt to find the solution.
“Dry,” by Neal Shusterman and son, Jarrod Shusterman is a novel that barely scratches the surface of true imagination. Both authors have a phenomenal writing style that dives deep into human emotion and demonstrates a whole new level of building yourself as a person; meaning, what risks a person is willing to make, what habits to push down and what it takes to make the protagonists willing to cross the line. The authors builds unlikely scenarios that question the true morals of each protagonist and aids them down a path of growth within themselves in order to focus on the important objectives of surviving the waterless apocalypse.
The Shustermans also make the reader question who their loyalty belongs throughout the novel as secrets begin to unravel throughout the novel, creating heart-racing tension between the main characters. However, it is not only the suspicion of who to fully trust in the novel that creates a desire to keep reading, but the unforeseen twists and turns that lead to an indescribable and jaw-dropping climax.
The authors use multiple points of view to demonstrate the different outlooks on the tragedy at hand. From the main characters to supporting characters, the reader is able to see the struggles, temptations, and sacrifices people faced during this living nightmare. Adding these points of view creates more depth to the story alone and creates the anxiety-ridden question of: will they survive?
But while multiple points of view is an interesting route to take for such a tragedy, it does drag out the story much more than necessary. Oftentimes, the authors would have to repeat themselves on a topic that occurred in the book multiple times, which slowed and disrupted the flow of the story. Oftentimes, it was almost like a recap, which is only good if a reader takes a break from the book for a while. These views mostly occurred between the main characters, which also dragged out the beginning much more than necessary.
“Dry” is a novel that demonstrates the reality of survival, with questioning faith and irrational decision making of how to manage the apocalypse. It allows one to question where loyalty should truly be placed, even if the unexpected people are the ones a person can trust most. This novel also creates a whole new level of character development on its own and unexpected surprises. And with such creative tips on what one should do should an event like this occur, “Dry,” is a perfectly built guide on how to survive the apocalypse.
