Book Review: Water Wars by Cameron Stracher

 

Water Wars is a rip-roaring, fast-paced, dystopian adventure that many teens will love. The world is suffering from a water shortage, and because of this, has become a very unfriendly place.  Different areas of the United States have become separate states and keep what little water they have to themselves.  The environment is in a shambles – the entire world seems to be a desert. There are no lakes or rivers. Water is rationed. There are no showers or baths, no swimming, no fountains, no clothes washers. Just imagine all the places we see or use water, and then imagine all of those things are nonexistent.

Our main character, Vera, meets an interesting boy, Kai at her bus stop.  Kai doesn’t go to school. His father is a driller – a person who drills for water, so he is very wealthy and also always in fear for his life. Kai is escorted by body guards most of the time (although they are conveniently absent during certain parts of the book.) Vera and Kai begin a secret and somewhat romantic relationship.

When Kai doesn’t show up to meet Vera one day, she and her brother, Will, decide to sneak into his house (in a wealthier, guarded part of town) and find his dead body guard and no sign of Kai or his father.

From then on, the adventure begins.  And it doesn’t stop. Will and Vera run into one near-death situation after another, and are assisted by many colorful characters along the way.  So, if you like fast-paced adventures, you will not be disappointed here.

The problem is that some of the situations are a bit unrealistic. First of all, Will and Very make extremely stupid decisions regarding their attempt to rescue Kai. They are doomed to failure, and even a young teen reader will realize this.  But I guess that’s part of the fun – they do this even though all odds are against them.  I liked the unusual people that turn up to assist the duo, but find it hard to believe that so many last minute, just in the nick of time rescues occurred.

The story line in this dystopian is probably the most plausible of any I’ve read, and that makes it a bit scarier. Stracher gets a message across about how we need to be careful how we are treating our planet and our natural resources, or we may find ourselves in the same situation, but it’s not heavy or annoying.

I think younger teens will like Water Wars for the adventure and suspense factor, but more sophisticated readers may need a more plausible outcome.

Published by Sourcebooks Fire, January 2011
Copy purchased for my Kindle
256 pages

Rating: 2.5/5

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