Blog Tour/ Book Review- Drought

By Pam Bachorz

Published by Egmont USA

Released on January 25th, 2011

Source- The Teen Scene Book Tours & Egmont USA

2.5 stars- It was Ok. I wanted to like it more than I did.

Ruby Prosser dreams of escaping the Congregation and the early-nineteenth century lifestyle that’s been practiced since the community was first enslaved.

She plots to escape the vicious Darwin West, his cruel Overseers, and the daily struggle to gather the life-prolonging Water that keeps the Congregants alive and gives Darwin his wealth and power. But if Ruby leaves, the Congregation will die without the secret ingredient that makes the Water special: her blood.

So she stays.

But when Ruby meets Ford, the new Overseer who seems barely older than herself, her desire for freedom is too strong. He’s sympathetic, irresistible, forbidden—and her only access to the modern world. Escape with Ford would be so simple, but can Ruby risk the terrible price, dooming the only world she’s ever known?(quoted from Goodreads).

I'll admit that I was really drawn to Drought because of it's captivating cover, the setting and by the author. Pam's writing is one that makes you think, and believe me, I thought a lot while reading Drought. This book really threw me for a surprise, but not in the way I was expecting. From the moment the story starts I felt like I was thrown into the middle of the woods where the story is set, in complete isolation. Like Ruby, I have no idea what year it is or what's going on with the outside world.

Pam paints a very vivid picture of what it must be like to be in a cult, and I liked the history that is explained in the story as to why there is a group of people isolated from civilization for over 200 years. The society Ruby lives in are enslaved in the woods and they harvest water every day, but like the books title, there's a drought and not much left to find. Ruby's people have spent years being brainwashed to believe that Otto, their missing beloved leader & Ruby's father will come back and save them. I felt like yelling at them to wake up and unite together, to stop letting someone think for them, let alone someone who's not even around, and come together to over take their abusive leader, Darwin and break free of the prison they've allowed themselves to be in for hundreds of years. I had a hard time with the beatings that take place in the story, thought I get that there needed to be a character like the evil, violent Darwin West, who feels that his slaves need to be submissive and not ask questions. Part of me was confused that for a people that have been around so long I would have expected them to learn how to stand up for themselves and unite, even though part of me sympathized with the fact that they've been living in fear so long that they didn't know how to or couldn't find the inner strength to do so.

There were times I found myself frustrated with the book as I felt there wasn't a lot of world or character building for me to really relate to the story. I started out irked that Ruby would stand aside and allow her mother to get beat the way she did and never speak up, though many times she wanted to. As the story continued, I became more frustrated she wouldn't stand up to her mother. For someone being 200 years old, I would have expected her to have more of a back bone. I think the reason I'm most frustrated is because I have a hard time relating to characters who don't stand up and voice their opinions or stand up for themselves or those they love. Then towards the end of the book, I realized it took Ford entering Ruby's life for her to understand she had a choice, and he was the only one who could help her find her voice.

I think Pam made her point with Drought and that was to make the reader think. Believe me, I thought a lot about it while reading it. Pam had a way of getting me emotionally invested with her story, as at times I was frustrated, disappointed, confused and then in the end I wanted to know what Ruby would do. I wanted to be able to be there and cheer Ruby on when she finally found her voice, stood up for herself and finds her way to freedom, and I'll admit it Ruby really surprised me. Drought's ending isn't a happily ever after, but one that gives the reader a small glimmer of hope for Ruby and her future. Though I wanted to like the book more than I did, I would recommend this to those who like Dystopian books with a twist. I would also recommend this to older teens, as there is violence in the way of beatings through out the story.