The Water Wars

Author: Cameron Stracher
Recommended Age: Young Adult
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
ISBN-13: 978-1-4022-4369-1
Year Published: 2011
No. Pages: 240
Genre: Dystopian/ Science Fiction
Main Character Gender: Female
Read & Reviewed by: Joyce



How far would you go to save someone who has a secret worth killing for?

Fifteen-year-old Vera and her family live in a world where water is scarce. Vera gets used to always being thirsty, but all that changes when she meets Kai, the son of a wealthy driller. He treats water as though there's a limitless supply. One day, Kai is abducted leaving a dead bodyguard and a ransacked apartment. Vera and her brother, Will, go on a quest to find Kai knowing they are his only hope. On their quest, they meet water pirates, environmental mercenaries and others trying to survive. Will they find Kai and possibly their only hope of finding water?

Water became scarce when Earth's rising temperature melted the ice caps and snow. Canadians damned the rivers in an attempt to protect their water, and riots broke out; hundreds of millions of people died from dehydration, diseases, and war. Cameron Stracher made me realize how the Earth's resources are limited, and not only will affect my children but my grandchildren later on. Also, if people are greedy and refuse to conserve water, then the future depicted in this novel may not be far from the truth 


Stracher painted a clear, possible view of the future by creating a dark, yet eerily believable setting. The imagery in this novel made me see the setting like a movie behind my eyelids. In both Fantasy and Science Fiction novels, authors need to create a realistic setting for readers or the story can fall flat if it doesn't ring true. Stracher does just that. Here is an example:

I looked down the dusty road. Not a sign of life anywhere- just the hills, scarred from the ancient fires, and sand blowing around the empty lot while I waited. Not even a lizard or insect moved. Once there had been a row of stores at the edge of the lot, but now all that remained were skeletons that scavengers hadn't sold for scrap. Torn insulation and loose wire dangled like innards from pitted aluminum struts. When the wind blew, they made a sound like mourning. (pg 2)

Stracher made this book so real that sometimes I had to stop reading and make sure I wasn't living in Vera's world.

I loved how Stracher wrote this novel, because he wrote with suspense that had me turning the pages as quickly as I could. Stracher also included cliff-hangers at the end of chapters that propelled me to the next chapter, desperate to know what would happen to Vera and her gang. The futuristic society in this novel was structured into four groups: people that found water and got rich , people that merely survived by buying water, people that died of dehydration, and others fighting for their lives in the outskirts. The Water Wars was written in the perspective of Vera, a girl who brought all of these groups together.

Vera helped me understand the power struggle over water in this novel. Her narrative voice ensured that I got to know her well so I had someone to guide me through this novel. Vera was a determined character that would not give-up on her search to find Kai, even after almost drowning, and witnessing the death of people she knew. Vera was a role model for me throughout this book because her determination showed me that I could do anything I wanted to do, if I set my mind to do it. What surprised me the most about Stracher's writing was that he was writing in the perspective of a teenage girl despite being a adult male.

I would give this book a ten out of ten because the way Stracher depicted this novel was so realistic I felt like it could be real. The Water Wars was also a frighteningly realistic promise that water is scarce, and will be hard to get one day. I think anyone would love this book just like I have. If you are looking for a dystopian fiction read, then The Water Wars is the book for you.