Dry is a Young Adult novel written by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman. It was released in October 2018.
The story takes place in California during the Tap-Out, a severe drought that has caused the taps to run dry.
The story follows several teenagers as they try to survive during all this. The main cast consists of Alyssa and her little brother Garret whose parents have gone missing while looking for water, their neighbour Kelton who comes from a family of preppers, runaway Jancui, and opportunistic rich kid Henry.
This book provides examples of:
- Crazy Survivalist: Deconstructed. Kelton's family are preppers, so when an extreme drought causes the taps to run dry, they are prepared for it. However Kelton's father keeps bragging about how prepared they are and refuses to share his water with anyone else even though they have more than enough. This really angers his neighbours who eventually attack their house and steal most of their water.
- Killing in Self-Defense: Kelton kills two men who tried to rape Alyssa and almost killed Garret.
- Murder by Mistake: Mister McCracken accidentally kills his eldest son, whom he mistakes for a robber.
- Offing the Offspring: Mister McCracken accidentally kills his eldest son, whom he mistakes for a robber.
- Skewed Priorities: Henry is more focused on earning money from the Tap-Out, than on the fact that thousands of people are dying.
- Stealing the Credit: Henry appears on the news, claiming that he was the anonymous hero who saved the people in Tulson. Even though he was nowhere near there when it happened.
- Would Hurt a Child: The two thugs who steal the main characters' car have no problem letting three teenagers and a ten year old child die of thirst.
