Dry by Neal Shusterman (review)

With FEMA's attention diverted by a hurricane, the abrupt decision by Arizona and Nevada to effectively cut off the flow of the Colorado River into Southern California first registers as little more than a regional story. For those suffering from the "Tap-Out," though, it's life or death. Narrator Alyssa is as shocked as everyone to find the spigots dry, and her family does exactly what everyone else seems to be doing—driving to Costco for bottled water (too late), trusting in government relief (misplaced), and slowly coming to regard equally needy neighbors as foes (inevitable.) At first, Alyssa's nerdy nextdoor neighbor Kelton, whose family have long been disaster preppers, is a source of solid advice and the occasional water bottle. When FEMA doesn't show and all hell breaks loose, though, even the preppers' best laid strategies turn to tragedy, and Alyssa, younger brother Garrett, and Kelton make a run for Kelton's well-stocked bug-out shelter in the hills. Two strays muscle their way in on the getaway—emotionally unstable Jacqui and slick-talking charlatan Henry—each of whom has the potential to save or scuttle the road trip at any point. In contrast with so many dystopian novels set in a vaguely dated post-apocalypse, Dry could play out tomorrow morning, and the characters' mid-crisis decisions seem distressingly close to home. Six days of societal unraveling manifests in characters, with Alyssa's can-do pluck steadily eroding, Kelton's grief hobbling his customary resourcefulness, Garrett's self-absorption morphing into self-reliance, and Jacqui and Henry's head games losing their edge. With strong characterizations, a timely topic, and decisions to debate at every turn, this is a prime candidate for YA book clubs. EB