The Water Wars by Cameron Stracher

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 is 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 is too late for all of us.

Fast forward to a world in which water is a rarity. Can you imagine how frightening that would be? Water is rationed out, wasting one drop is against the law. There are no rivers or lakes. I see this happening in a distant future that’s a bit too close, personally. The entire time reading The Water Wars I kept thinking, “What if this was happening right now?”

Vera befriends Kai, a boy she first witnesses wasting drinking water in the middle of the street. She’s intrigued by him, more so when he begins telling her of things he knows that could easily get them all killed. Then one day Kai is just…gone. Vera fears the worst and decides to go rescue him, along with the help of her brother. Vera and Will go on this journey around North America running into all sorts of interesting characters. While I did like some of the characters in the book, it wasn’t the sort of book I became completely enthralled with.

The Water Wars is your basic action/adventure book with a futuristic edge. It’s a bit too fast-paced for my liking. It’s one of those books, I wish I could say I loved, but there was just something holding me back. I felt at times things were happening so rapidly that I had no time to really comprehend what was happening.

As always, if you are interested in the synopsis – give it a chance! Not every book is appropriate for every reader.

I received my copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion.

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