Uncle Dill, Uncle Thyme, Uncle Chive, and during a period our parents wish we would forget, Uncle Cannabis. Uncle Basil’s actual name is Herb, but somewhere along the line my brother and I began referring to him as various herbs in our garden.

Ever since, we’ve had nothing but plumbing and electrical problems.ĭad’s in our garage working on his car with Uncle Basil-who’s been living with us on and off since his almond farm up in Modesto failed. Then he put his money where his mouth was. “Why pay through the nose for contractors when you can do it yourself?” he always said. Then she moves the handle to the off position, and says, “Alyssa, go get your father.”Įver since single-handedly remodeling our kitchen, Dad has had delusions of plumbing grandeur. Mom just stands there holding Kingston’s water bowl beneath the faucet, puzzling. Our dog, Kingston, raises his ears, but still keeps his distance from the sink, unsure if it might unexpectedly come back to life, but no such luck. It coughs and wheezes like it’s gone asthmatic. The kitchen faucet makes the most bizarre sounds. Check out the book's cover and an excerpt from the novel below. 2, 2018, but if you can't wait for the story, don't worry - MashReads has a exclusive sneak peek at the novel. And Flint, Michigan, still doesn't have clean water, almost four years after it was revealed that the city's water was heavily contaminated with lead in 2014.ĭry doesn't come out until Oct. The rapid spread of those wildfires aided by years of drought. In 2017, Southern California faced historic wildfires that decimated 1.2M acres of land (opens in a new tab). Of course, it's hard not to see parallels between the plight of Dry and the environmental disasters in our current news cycle. And when her parents don’t return and her life-and the life of her brother-is threatened, Alyssa has to make impossible choices if she’s going to survive,' the book outlines. 'Suddenly, Alyssa’s quiet suburban street spirals into a warzone of desperation neighbors and families turned against each other on the hunt for water. Neal Shusterman redefines dystopian fiction with his 'Arc of the Scythe' seriesīut when Arizona and Nevada pull out of a vital reservoir relief deal that brings some of the country's scarce water supply to Southern California, Alyssa and her community are left dry.

Dry by neal