Drought

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Author(s)

Pam Bachorz

Publisher

Egmont

Genre(s)

Dystopian

Age Range

12+

Release Date

January 25, 2011

ISBN

1606840169

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A young girl thirsts for love and freedom, but at what cost? Ruby dreams of escaping the Congregation. Escape from slaver Darwin West and his cruel Overseers. Escape from the backbreaking work of gathering Water. Escape from living as if it is still 1812, the year they were all enslaved. When Ruby meets Ford—an irresistible, kind, forbidden new Overseer—she longs to run away with him to the modern world where she could live a normal teenage life. Escape with Ford would be so simple. But if Ruby leaves, her community is condemned to certain death. She, alone, possesses the secret ingredient that makes the Water so special—her blood—and it’s the one thing that the Congregation cannot live without. Drought is the haunting story of one community’s thirst for life, and the dangerous struggle of the only girl who can grant it.

A young girl thirsts for love and freedom, but at what cost?

Ruby dreams of escaping the Congregation. Escape from slaver Darwin West and his cruel Overseers. Escape from the backbreaking work of gathering Water. Escape from living as if it is still 1812, the year they were all enslaved.

When Ruby meets Ford—an irresistible, kind, forbidden new Overseer—she longs to run away with him to the modern world where she could live a normal teenage life. Escape with Ford would be so simple.

But if Ruby leaves, her community is condemned to certain death. She, alone, possesses the secret ingredient that makes the Water so special—her blood—and it’s the one thing that the Congregation cannot live without.

Drought is the haunting story of one community’s thirst for life, and the dangerous struggle of the only girl who can grant it.

Editor reviews

2 reviews

Compelling Tale

January 03, 2011 (Updated: June 03, 2026)

Overall rating

4.0

Plot

4.0

Characters

N/A

Writing Style

N/A

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Ruby dreams of leaving the Congregation and the cruel rule of slaver Darwin West and his Overseers. Each day is a struggle to collect precious water. The work is brutal. They still live as if it's 1812, the year they were all enslaved.

Ruby's mother leads the Congregation with hopes that their savior will come and deliver them. All Ruby sees though is endless work and brutality.

Then Ruby falls in love with Ford, a new Overseer, who's unlike anyone she's met before. She longs to run away with him and leave the Congregation behind. Guilt holds her back as it's her blood that makes the water so special. Without it, the Congregation will die.

This is a compelling dystopia tale of a girl and the struggles she goes through with her so-called calling and her desire to follow her heart. Ruby's trials are heartbreaking especially when she witnesses her mother's daily beatings by a cruel overlord.

I wanted Ruby to escape with Ford. I also thought the Congregation was selfish to make her feel she had to stay. Ford's character showed hope, something the whole Congregation longed for. I was curious though how the 'outside' world didn't know about the Congregation. That aspect of this tale had The Village by M. Night Shyamalan feel to it. Both have societies hidden by the modern world. Both have terrible secrets though in Drought I felt as if Ruby did end up making the choice on whether she should stay or follow her heart. Plus the characters in Drought are more fleshed out like how Ruby's own mother isn't exactly honest with her and the others.

Another Egmont winner!

Kim Baccellia, Staff Reviewer Top 10 Reviewer 945 reviews

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Overall rating

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Plot

3.0(1)

Characters

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Writing Style

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Weird

May 06, 2012 (Updated: June 03, 2026)

Overall rating

2.7

Plot

3.0

Characters

2.0

Writing Style

3.0

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Drought is a really strange book. Partly because I thought it was going to be a dystopia, which it did seem to be for a while, but then it turned out to be something else. I would not have picked up on the point of the story at all, if not for an observation by one of the characters; I would discuss it, because it's an interesting theme, but the reveal is a part of what makes the story interesting, so I won't. Suffice it to say that it is covering fairly new ground in teen lit.

The story is fairly slow moving without much real action; the characters spend much of the book gathering water and getting beatings. While a whipping may sound like action, it felt more like drudgery, because it happened to the Congregants most every day. Just because the book is slow doesn't mean it was hard to get through; it actually flowed along at a slow pace, like a sluggish river.

The characters were a bit of a weak point. Ruby was definitely most likable, which is good since you see from her perspective. I couldn't get caught up in her romance or her worries about the Congregation though, because I did not see why either one really deserved such devotion.

Religious themes are hugely important to the plot of this novel. The Congregation is so named because they all worship together. They worship Otto, their savior who promised to return (sound somewhat familiar?). They believe in him because of the miracles he performed (now?). A couple of clever things are done with this, such as the scene where Ruby and her love interest both insult one another's beliefs: she his in the Holy Trinity and he hers in Otto.

Overall, I really do not know how I feel about this book. It was just so strange! For that reason alone, I think I am happy to have read it, because it is definitely walking some fresh ground. My plans to read Candor, Bachorz' other book have not changed; this book was well-written enough and interesting enough to earn her another try.