Parched

Written by: Georgia Clark
Gulp down a tall glass of H2O and some water crackers for this one!

Yay for sci-fi/adventure/romance/dystopian original novels! Seriously, I really liked this book. Clark is a charismatic writer, and her characters are complex and fun to get to know.

Tessendra Rockwood is a spoiled rich girl who (for reasons initially unknown) leaves the protective dome of her city, Eden, to camp out in the Badlands. The contrast is horrifying; people in Eden live clean, happy lives and have an abundance of precious water, while in the Badlands children fight over the smallest sip of muddy liquid. Tessendra is eventually found by a member of the rebel group Kudzu, who are intent on ending the growing inequality. She returns home and lives with her uncle, who she thinks may be helping Eden keep the water in and the Badlanders out. She works undercover with the Kudzu, and eventually hatches a plan to help free the water, all while balancing her time studying at home with her Uncle's assistant, a handsome but odd boy who seems just a little off.

I can't say more without revealing too much, but I can say that this is a really good novel. To quote from the back of the book, "robots, renewable resources, and romance get tangled together in this thrilling futuristic adventure." It's true! The plot is just complicated enough to be interesting, and the setting is full of possibilities and a possible commentary on the current global situation. There is no stagnancy in this novel (in so many others I feel like I just want to get on with it already!), in fact the plot keeps twisting and turning so I was never bored. The villain is thoroughly evil, and the heroes are satisfyingly daring.

There are only two things that I wasn't quite happy with. First, I found it difficult to like the beginning of the book. It was a little confusing, and I wasn't sure what was going on. My advice is just to get through it, Chapter 3 is where it starts to pick up, and that's only page 26 so it's really not that hard. Second, occasionally Clark fell into the trap of making her main character a little too slow. I understood key plot points chapters before Tessendra did, which was fairly frustrating. This was my biggest qualm, and besides that, the book was awesome!

If you like futuristic adventure romances, I absolutely recommend this one.

4/5 stars!