Drought

November 8, 2010
Bachorz (Candor) again carves out a compelling niche in the dystopian genre, tackling issues of faith, perseverance, and obligation in this bleak tale of an isolated community enslaved by the past. For 200 years, Ruby and other members of the Congregation have toiled, collecting life-sustaining (and life-prolonging) Water under hellish conditions, kept in line by Overseers and forced to satisfy demanding quotas. Only a select few know that Ruby's blood, like that of her long-missing father, Otto, is the catalyst that turns ordinary water into Water, a secret they keep at all costs. While the Congregants patiently wait for Otto, their savior and founder, to return and lead them to freedom, Ruby believes it's time to escape and seek him out. In defiance of custom and wisdom, Ruby falls for Ford, an Overseer, further pushing her toward a fateful decision. Though some of the intrinsic supernatural elements aren't fully explained, the tension between the Christian aspects of Ruby's faith (life-saving blood, an absent and awaited savior) and Ford's contemporary Christianity results in a complex, provocative exploration of loyalty, community, family, and belief. Ages 12–up.

November 15, 2010

In this lengthy, imaginative science-fiction tale, a girl is driven to escape an isolated commune in upstate New York that's been frozen in time since 1812. Ruby actually is 200 years old, but she's only 17 in growth. She lives in a slave colony controlled by Darwin, its cruel master, and his brutal Overseers. She and the other Congregants gather Water, which can heal any wound or disease and stops aging. The Congregants lead an almost intolerable existence, enduring constant beatings and starvation while taking strength from their cult-like religion. Ruby needs to escape not only her slavery but also her mother's and the Congregants' hold on her. Bachorz paints the bleak colony in stark detail and writes especially vivid and interesting characters, but the story suffers from a certain sameness. She makes Ruby's grim world believable but so unremittingly desolate that readers may need relief nearly as much as the colony's inhabitants. An intriguing story with depth, but its success will depend on individual taste. (Science fiction. 12 & up)

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December 15, 2010
Grades 7-10 For 200 years, Ruby and the Congregation have been enslaved by Darwin West and his Overseers, forced to harvest water for a mysterious Visitor. Brutally beaten and starved, they struggle through each year while waiting faithfully for their savior, Otto, to return and free them. Rubys duty to the Congregation keeps her from running: they would die without her, because only her blood can give the water its healing and life-sustaining properties. When she meets Ford, a new Overseer also trapped in his role, they fall in love and long for a life free of crushing obligations. Ruby is as much a slave to the Congregation as they are to Darwin, and she is believably conflicted, desiring change without losing hope. Bachorz uses this dystopian premise to explore powerful themes of faith and loyalty, freedom and slavery, but the integral supernatural and world-building elements are not fully developed, raising a host of interesting questions that are never answered. The unrelenting bleakness and slow pacing will further limit the audience for this brooding, thought-provoking story.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)