{"id":1095,"date":"2011-11-19T15:19:00","date_gmt":"2011-11-19T15:19:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/writingya.com\/?p=1095"},"modified":"2018-11-20T05:34:52","modified_gmt":"2018-11-20T05:34:52","slug":"2011-cybils-dry-souls-by-denise-geston","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/writingya.com\/?p=1095","title":{"rendered":"2011 Cybils: Dry Souls, by Denise Geston"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a> Reader Gut Reaction<\/b><\/i>: A surprisingly hopeful dystopia – not exactly a happy ending, as there are some horrific losses and details not tidily tied up, but a solid debut novel, and the first in a realistic dystopian series.<\/p>\n

Kira’s life has been spent knowing that water isn’t something to play with. It isn’t something to wash in too often, either. And forget about plants – it’s illegal to grow things for personal use, and nobody<\/i> can grow flowers. Water is just too precious for that, and is rigidly controlled and rationed.<\/p>\n

Concerning Character<\/b><\/i>: Kira is difficult, and a loner — or so she’s always been told. It might be because in the girls’ home where she lives, she rarely gets space or privacy, and the rumor persists that her mother was a freak. When Kira discovers a tiny wildflower growing outside, she hoards water for its survival, harvesting even her spit to help keep it alive. This discovery is worth the risk of making a friend, but her change in behavior has other girls circling suspiciously.<\/p>\n

And then, Kira makes a terrifying discovery… that leads to a betrayal and a change in her life which forces her to question everything she’s ever known. The world has lost water – but it wasn’t a loss. The water was polluted and ruined. It might be that the world can be made right again — but is it Kira who can make it right?
<\/a> Recommended for Fans Of…<\/b><\/i>: Drought<\/i>, by Pam Bachorez, Water Wars<\/i> by Cameron Stracher, or Saci Lloyd’s The Carbon Diaries<\/i> series.<\/p>\n

Themes & Things<\/b><\/i>: Traditional dystopian motifs abound, including first being seduced by, then later subverting the power of the state. Kira’s eventual escape is a happy surprise, and her decision to partner with those who have suffered to benefit the great good reminds me a lot of Tally Youngblood’s determination in Uglies<\/i>, by Scott Westerfeld.<\/p>\n

Cover Chatter<\/b><\/i>: The girl’s face in cracked earth makes for a great cover – it works, and though it’s been done before – generally for lotion commercials – it makes the points needed.<\/p>\n

Amusingly, this book is put out by CBAY Books – and the letters stand for C<\/b>hildren’s B<\/b>rains A<\/b>re Y<\/b>ummy. Sadly, there are no zombies in this novel…<\/p>\n

You can find DRY SOULS<\/i><\/a> at an independent bookstore near you!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Reader Gut Reaction: A surprisingly hopeful dystopia – not exactly a happy ending, as there are some horrific losses and details not tidily tied…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[31,72,12,5],"class_list":["post-1095","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-cybils","tag-dystopian","tag-fantasy-sci-fi","tag-reviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingya.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1095","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingya.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingya.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingya.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingya.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1095"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/writingya.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1095\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6809,"href":"https:\/\/writingya.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1095\/revisions\/6809"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingya.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1095"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingya.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1095"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingya.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1095"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}