The best (or worst, depending on your opinion) thing about this book is that the events here are utterly convincing in the possibility of becoming real events in not-too-distant future. It's a survival story of California residents after an ecological crisis hit and no water is available. People began to break down and turn on each other, some employing more brutal methods than others. It is realistically what I imagine would be happening if we don't have access to water for days. The pacing may be slow at times and the multiple POVs aren't distinct enough so I had to have a second look a few times to remind myself who's talking, but I finished it in one sitting because it's too haunting and distressing and I wanted to see how it ended. A soild read and another masterpiece from Neal Shusterman.