Is this book part of a series or a standalone story?

This novel is a standalone work and does not require reading any other books to understand the plot or conclusion.

What inspired the authors to write this story?

The authors researched real-world drought scenarios and collapsing infrastructure to create a plausible, cautionary tale about how quickly society might unravel during a resource crisis.

Does the book use a single narrator or multiple perspectives?

The narrative is told through the alternating perspectives of several different teenagers, supplemented by brief snapshots of other individuals and news reports to show the wider scope of the crisis.

Dry

Dystopian Post-Apocalyptic

Pages: 390
Published: 2018
Language: English

When the taps run dry, life in Alyssa's suburban street quickly devolves into chaos as neighbors turn on each other in a desperate hunt for water. With her parents missing, Alyssa and her brother must make impossible choices to survive in a world where the drought has escalated to catastrophic proportions.

Prose complexity: 4/10

Tense Gritty Dark

Survival Coming of Age

Authors

Jarrod Shusterman

Neal Shusterman

Neal Shusterman (born November 12, 1962) is an American author of young adult fiction, best known for the Unwind Dystology and the Arc of the Scythe trilogy (Scythe, Thunderhead, The Toll). He grew up in Brooklyn, New York, and later spent his final two years of high school in Mexico City. He won the 2015 National Book Award for Young People's Literature for Challenger Deep and the 2024 Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime contribution to writing for teens.

AlyssaProtagonist

All characters in Dry

Frequently asked questions

Is this book part of a series or a standalone story?
This novel is a standalone work and does not require reading any other books to understand the plot or conclusion.
What inspired the authors to write this story?
The authors researched real-world drought scenarios and collapsing infrastructure to create a plausible, cautionary tale about how quickly society might unravel during a resource crisis.
Does the book use a single narrator or multiple perspectives?
The narrative is told through the alternating perspectives of several different teenagers, supplemented by brief snapshots of other individuals and news reports to show the wider scope of the crisis.