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Dark Water

by Laura McNeal (Goodreads Author)

3.53 of 5 stars 3.53 · rating details · 468 ratings · 158 reviews

Fifteen-year-old Pearl DeWitt and her mother live in Fallbrook, California, where it’s sunny 340 days of the year, and where her uncle owns a grove of 900 avocado trees. Uncle Hoyt hires migrant workers regularly, but Pearl doesn’t pay much attention to them . . . until Amiel. From the moment she sees him, Pearl is drawn to this boy who keeps to himself, fears being caught...more

Paperback, 304 pages

Published October 11th 2011 by Ember (first published September 14th 2010)

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Dec 07, 2011 Shirley Marr rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Shirley by: Reynje

Shelves: usa-ya

There is so much outstanding Aussie YA that I find I rarely find myself wandering from the field. When I do stray into USA YA - this book is exactly what I look for! I'm sorry USA, but I don't want to read the Disneyfied American High School stuff or the whitewashed stuff involving Angels that could be set anywhere. I want to know what makes you You. And the more left of centre and the more problems (societal and internal) it touches on, the better.

Dark Water examines the summer 15-year-old Pear...more

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Nov 21, 2011 Reynje rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-2011, shelf-of-ambivalence, young-adult, contemp-or-realistic

Welcome to Conflicted-Ville (population: one), where this ambivalent resident will attempt to stop flip-flopping between opinions and write a review with a modicum of coherency.

This award-winning coming of age novel by Laura McNeal has garnered a bevy of praise and accolades, and much love from readers and reviewers alike for its beautifully written prose and thought provoking denouement.

Dark Water has some serious literary style, in that the writing is considered and subtle. While atmospheric...more

7 likes · like · see review

Mar 16, 2011 Tatiana rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: fans of literary YA fiction

Shelves: national-book-award, 2011, ya

I just don't get it, why is it necessary to sell every YA book as some romance story, regardless of its actual content?

Just take a look at Dark Water's publisher provided description: Fifteen-year-old Pearl DeWitt and her mother live in Fallbrook, California... where her uncle owns a grove of 900 avocado trees. Uncle Hoyt hires migrant workers regularly, but Pearl doesn’t pay much attention to them . . . until Amiel. From the moment she sees him, Pearl is drawn to this boy who keeps to himself,...more

25 likes · like · see review

Jun 17, 2011 Ashley B. rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Introduction
This book Dark Water by Laura McNeal is a good book. This book is about a girl who falls in love with a boy who is an illegal immigrant and she is trying to not only make herself happy but she also try to make her family and this boy that she love happy also. There is then a fire in Fallbrook ,where is life with her family and the boy she love, she not only try to save herself but she also try to save the one she love. But there is a problem, the boy that she try to save is scared...more

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Jul 13, 2012 Samantha Louise (The Bibliophile's Neon Closet) rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

3.5 STARS

When I read the synopsis, I expected a story about the undying, star-crossed love of an illegal migrant worker, Amiel, and his employer's niece, Pearl. I anticipated a bunch of things to happen based on this but none of them came true because what started off as star-crossed love was twisted by the author, Laura McNeal, resulting a in a unique and offbeat (in a good way) story.

Even though Dark Water wasn't what I was expecting, I was plesantly surprised when the book turned out to be so...more

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May 11, 2012 Katherine rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: bullshit, one-star, read-it-if-you-want-to, so-horribly-bad

Guys, have you ever heard a song where the singer had such meaning in their voice, you were sure the words they were singing of were sincere and heartfelt? Were you sure that song would leave you with a new meaning to life? I do. I was listening to Candace sing about aglets on Phineas and Ferb, thinking she'd finally realized how cool the end of a shoelace is. Yeah, she was singing about the end of a shoelace. You'd think by the sound of her she was singing about someone dying or a tragic breaku...more Guys, have you ever heard a song where the singer had such meaning in their voice, you were sure the words they were singing of were sincere and heartfelt? Were you sure that song would leave you with a new meaning to life? I do. I was listening to Candace sing about aglets on Phineas and Ferb, thinking she'd finally realized how cool the end of a shoelace is. Yeah, she was singing about the end of a shoelace. You'd think by the sound of her she was singing about someone dying or a tragic breakup. But instead, she was being as silly as the show itself.
You see, I thought this book would leave me feeling something. It's a National Book Award winner so it had to, right?

No, I sat through 287 pages of watching a girl follow around a Mexican kid. I felt nothing for either of them, just wanting to finish the damn book.
I was going to make it a DNF (I may as well have), but I was in the school library with hours to kill. I had nothing else to do because I finished a project I had to do on Isaac Newton. I only had this one other book to read, so I decided to read this one.
In between that, I was listening to Phineas and Ferb music. The school library would fill with first graders watching crappy cartoon movies, and I wouldn't be able to focus on my book without simultaneously listening to Phineas and Ferb. The librarians wouldn't let me watch the show, but if I got something done while listening to the songs, I could listen all I wanted. This was pretty bad because I've been behind on watching the new episodes, and I'd rather have caught up on episode watching than read this book.
Even the scenes with the fire were boring. I felt nothing for the characters, so I wouldn't have give a shit if Pearl died. No one's character was developed, and everyone was boring. The fires no more interested me than the rest of the book. There was no plot, just words on paper.
Basically, if you're interested in reading this, read it. But if you give up on this, I understand. If I hadn't been at the school library with hours to kill, this would have definitely been a DNF.
Now excuse me while I go listen to Kayne West and brood over my poor choices in books.(less)

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Apr 08, 2012 Natalie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary, young-adult

Painful....finishing this book left me feeling a little sick. The writing was beautiful, and that's partly why I kept reading it. The author has a gentle, subtle style, full of meaning and description without being too flowery, The story moved like water, flowing and swift.

The story felt real. I could understand and believe teenagers making the choices that the characters in this book made. That didn't make it any less frustrating to watch it all unfolding. I can't really think about the end of...more

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Sep 27, 2011 Jill rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This coming of age/young love story is a departure from the usual young adult fare. It utilizes the elemental forces of fire and water to help tell the story, enriching it for the reader by the multiple layers of meaning in the text. There is so much in this book to stimulate the mind of readers: the symbolism of the life-giving role of water, and of the dual nature of fire that simultaneously connotes death but also the opportunity for clear-cutting renewal; the question of what constitutes com...more

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Sep 05, 2011 Hannah-Linn rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-summer-11

So, I think that the summary of this book may have been pretty misleading. There's a lot of emphasis on the forbidden love aspect of the story, and that really was part of the story, but that's more of a background to the story. It's more about Pearl and the mess that seems to be her life. With her dad leaving, and her mom trying to deal with it, them moving onto the avocado...farm? Pearls best friend kind of...out-growing her, not to mention the problem Robby is having throughout the story.

Addi...more So, I think that the summary of this book may have been pretty misleading. There's a lot of emphasis on the forbidden love aspect of the story, and that really was part of the story, but that's more of a background to the story. It's more about Pearl and the mess that seems to be her life. With her dad leaving, and her mom trying to deal with it, them moving onto the avocado...farm? Pearls best friend kind of...out-growing her, not to mention the problem Robby is having throughout the story.

Adding Amiel into the story just kind of sends Pearl over the edge, giving her a little bit of an escape. It wasn't an overkill teenage forbidden romance story. It wasn't even really sweet. To me it seemed like a crush, and the fact that she wasn't really allowed to have him making him more attractive to her. And in the end, it seems that this infatuation with Amiel cost her a lot more than was necessary. A LOT. (view spoiler)

Not to say that this story wasn't profound and amazing. The writing was just beautiful. GOR-JUS :P. It made everything about this story more profound and more beautiful. It was descriptive and you knew what Pearl was feeling, but it wasn't adjective overkill or three pages of "His black hair was glistening in the sun and his muscles rippled under the soft fabric of his blindingly white t-shirt." If you could see me now I would be rolling my eyes at the sentence I just wrote. Thankfully, this book wasn't full of that. THANK YOU.

Overall, I think the book was really good. The ending was good, it was sweet and I was like "Yay!" I would recommend it. I liked it. I'm having trouble deciding if it's one of those live it or hate it books. I think I've decided that it's a likeable book as long as you don't mind endnigs that aren't all warm and fuzzy and happy and everything works out for the best. Though everything does appear ok towards the very very end. (less)

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Jul 15, 2011 Corinne rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult

In Southern California, there are groves and fields of fruit trees. The line between those who own the groves and those who work on them is distinct and unwavering. There can be respect and there can even be kindness, but romantic love? It doesn't even need to be said that such a thing doesn't really happen.

Except, for Pearl, it does. Not that Pearl OWN the avocado ranch, of course. That's her Uncle Hoyt. But she still knows better than to tell anyone about Amiel, the apparently mute migrant wor...more

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Apr 20, 2011 Sheila rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: coming-of-age, cultural, current_issues, relationships, romance, young-adult

The Dark Water or Agua Prieta of Laura McNeal’s title is a creek in the small community of Fallbrook, California. It’s also the location, and name, of a wildfire that swept through the area, destroying homes and killing citizen and migrant worker alike. Fifteen-year-old Pearl DeWitt narrates the tale—a child on the cusp of womanhood, just beginning to learn the perils of trust and love. Author Laura McNeal creates a wonderful sense of people and place, together with that curious displacement of...more The Dark Water or Agua Prieta of Laura McNeal’s title is a creek in the small community of Fallbrook, California. It’s also the location, and name, of a wildfire that swept through the area, destroying homes and killing citizen and migrant worker alike. Fifteen-year-old Pearl DeWitt narrates the tale—a child on the cusp of womanhood, just beginning to learn the perils of trust and love. Author Laura McNeal creates a wonderful sense of people and place, together with that curious displacement of the nearly grown, in this novel for young adults.

Communication is central to this story, from the physically voiceless Mexican to the voicelessness of poverty and ignorance. Silkworms might die if treated wrong. Mexican’s might be cast out by la migra. Crops might not be gathered. Spouse might be forgotten or betrayed.

Pearl’s curiosity about Amiel, and Amiel’s tender fear, grow sweetly under the shade of the avocado trees. Pearl’s cousin betrays and feels betrayed. Pearl’s absent father leaves deep wounds. And Pearl, like an oyster opening, begins to find herself. But the beauty of scenery is haunted always by the knowledge that disaster looms; the reader is never quite sure whether the shell will protect Pearl’s treasure or whether fate will leave it cracked. Wildfire seems almost the ultimate miscommunication, casting its flames where it will, destroying some and sparing others almost randomly. And sometimes you have to face the danger, speak your fears to survive.

Dark Water is a sweet sad love story for teens, built on beauty and mystery, threaded with responsibility and concern, and building to a climax of very real danger. The author juggles innocence and friendship delightfully, building forbidden romance into wholly appropriate human concern, and revealing the paths where blame hides itself as surely as a migrant worker’s camp under the trees. The novel haunts with its beauty, grates with its honest teenage carelessness, and leaves a lasting impression of humanity, worth more in all its shades than any kind of blame.

Disclosure: I received an advanced readers copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.(less)

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Mar 18, 2011 Angela rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary, favorites, issues, young-adult, arc, vine, 5-stars, read-in-2011

Blown away by beautiful writing & aching story

In Laura McNeal's DARK WATER, fifteen-year-old Pearl and her mother find themselves living in a rundown cottage on her uncle's avocado ranch after her father leaves. With her mother withering under stress and her cousin Robby hatching vengeful plans against his father, Pearl notices Amiel, one of the new migrant workers. Pearl's tentative relationship with Amiel pushes boundaries, and for the first time in her life, she's making up lies about whe...more Blown away by beautiful writing & aching story

In Laura McNeal's DARK WATER, fifteen-year-old Pearl and her mother find themselves living in a rundown cottage on her uncle's avocado ranch after her father leaves. With her mother withering under stress and her cousin Robby hatching vengeful plans against his father, Pearl notices Amiel, one of the new migrant workers. Pearl's tentative relationship with Amiel pushes boundaries, and for the first time in her life, she's making up lies about where's she been and with whom. When wildfires strike the California hills, Pearl's wish to secretly protect Amiel may have tragic consequences.

When starting DARK WATER, I expected good things because I knew it had been a 2010 National Book Award nominee. I was not prepared, however, to be blown away as much as I was. McNeal's writing was effortless and smooth, and her descriptions were striking and evocative without feeling overwrought. While the first chapter heavily foreshadowed much of the events to come, this was one of the few times I've felt this technique added to the story. Instead of making me disappointed in being able to predict the ending, this foreknowledge added another aching layer of melancholy to the story as it unfolded. The ending of the story, while bittersweet and sad, leaves readers with a glimmer of hope about what can happen after unforgiveable mistakes have been made.

Though marketed as a forbidden romance, DARK WATER is much more about family, class, and the irreversible consequences of one's actions. The highlights of this story were the lovingly depicted and convoluted family relationships. Pearl, her mother, Uncle Hoyt, and Robby are all fully realized characters. The details of their interactions rang true, both in their daily conversations and patterns and also in their larger, grander gestures of connection. Pearl came across as achingly real, and while she made decisions that made her less likable at times, her choices were soundly authentic as those of a teen girl. Even though Amiel was less well-drawn, his quiet role in the story also remained important. Others have found flaws with this book, including the more limited development of Amiel and the sometimes slow pacing. Even though these things did exist, they didn't pull me out of the story; rather, I thought the pacing and the choices regarding Amiel's character served the story well.

When combined, the beautiful and descriptive language, the wonderful character development, and an engaging plot made DARK WATER the best book I've read so far this year. I look forward to reading future books by McNeal as well as picking up those that she has already co-authored with her husband, including CROOKED, CRUSHED, and ZIPPED.

Note: This review refers to an advance reader's copy. (less)

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Feb 02, 2011 Andrea rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Despite that fact hat McNeal's Dark Water was a finalist for the National Book Award, the novel is one-sided, overly romantic and only further serves to stereotype Mexican immigrant experience. This novel plays into the worse kind of stereotypes about undocumented worker communities. Using the backdrop of the 2007 fires that raged across San Diego county, the novel only serves to feed the fire of reactionary politics in San Diego. The novel not only fails to grapple with the complexities and har...more

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Jan 19, 2011 Jan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: teenbooks, contemporary

Living in a cottage on her uncle's southern California avocado ranch since her parent's messy divorce, fifteen-year-old Pearl Dewitt meets and falls in love with an illegal migrant worker, and is trapped with him when wildfires approach his makeshift forest home.

A coming of age story that takes its time to fully flesh out setting and character. First person narrative. The book begins by revealing that there has been a tragedy caused by fire, the author using an opening line that immediately piqu...more Living in a cottage on her uncle's southern California avocado ranch since her parent's messy divorce, fifteen-year-old Pearl Dewitt meets and falls in love with an illegal migrant worker, and is trapped with him when wildfires approach his makeshift forest home.

A coming of age story that takes its time to fully flesh out setting and character. First person narrative. The book begins by revealing that there has been a tragedy caused by fire, the author using an opening line that immediately piques interest:

“You wouldn’t have noticed me before the fire unless you saw that my eyes, like a pair of socks chosen in the dark, don’t match.”

That image, of the eyes not matching, signals the reader that the narrator is independent and will make choices that may go against convention. To Amiel, the eye color signifies that she belongs in two worlds. That duality and tension come to a head at the climax of the novel, when Pearl makes decisions based upon her love for Amiel that bring painful and tragic consequences.

Pearl is a sharply perceptive character, a fact that doesn’t save her from these tragic consequences, which is an interesting observation of human nature.

Amiel’s inability to speak allows the author to devise interesting ways to convey his communication with Pearl, using these small actions and signs to gradually reveal his character.

The story incorporates the theme of illegal immigration, but not in a hammering over the head didactic way. Amiel is not a device used to send a message in illegal immigration; he is a fully developed character with his own backstory.

Imagery is quietly lovely, but not overly lavish. For example: “But on August 21, three days before the return to school, clouds rippled overhead like dirty fleece, turning the river into a room lit evenly from within.” Lovely.

The ending, with its tragic consequences that are the result of good intentions, but not so good judgment, is not tinkered with to create an artificial happy ending. We leave the novel knowing that decisions sometimes come with horrible consequences that cannot be ameliorated. This does not, by any means, rule out redemption, but it does mean that sometimes time must pass before this can happen.

The side story of Robbie and MaryBeth also underscores one of the themes of the novel--how we see others and especially how we judge them. Of course that is part of the tension between whites and illegal immigrants in the novel, but Robbie’s behavior also reflects on how we judge others before knowing the full story.
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Dec 13, 2010 Marisa rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya

I wasn't horribly crazy about this book -- it seemed really slow, but that may just be because I didn't have much time to read it so it took me longer than it should have. I felt like the first 2/3 of the book were just Pearl longing for Amiel, and it seemed like there was only about a chapter about them actually together. I never got a clear feeling for why she was so drawn to him, and I certainly didn't get a good description of why their relationship was so powerful as to make her fall in lov...more

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Nov 07, 2010 Margo Tanenbaum rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult

Living in Southern California, I was curious to read a novel which centers around our inevitable wildfire seasons. I was riveted by Laura McNeil's story set in Fallbrook, CA, an agricultural community east of San Diego. Our heroine, Pearl, lives with her mom in a guest house on her uncle's avocado ranch, since Pearl's dad left them without much in the way of financial resources. She's used to the Mexican day laborers hanging around town, looking for work, but when she asks her uncle to consider...more

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Oct 06, 2010 Ellz Readz rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

My thoughts...Dark Water is a book based on actual events. The fires in California are a reality many people deal with regularly. The characters, while fictional, felt very real as did their fear. This story left me with goosebumps.

The beginning of Dark Water started off slow. There was quite a bit of character development and few side stories that distracted me. The love story between Pearl and Amiel took a while to develop and fell a bit short. I would begin to feel a strong pull between the...more

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Sep 23, 2010 Carolina rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

DARK WATER can probably be summed up in one word: LONGING.

Now, have a look at that cover. The girl wades into the water, her eyes closed, her face tilted upward. You can practically hear in her mind: please. Brilliant, no? So freaking moving just to look at it. And they used one of the focal points within the story, the dark water, to convey that sense of mystery which pervades the entire book.

From the outset, we know that there is some great fire that breaks out (so no mystery there) and we kno...more DARK WATER can probably be summed up in one word: LONGING.

Now, have a look at that cover. The girl wades into the water, her eyes closed, her face tilted upward. You can practically hear in her mind: please. Brilliant, no? So freaking moving just to look at it. And they used one of the focal points within the story, the dark water, to convey that sense of mystery which pervades the entire book.

From the outset, we know that there is some great fire that breaks out (so no mystery there) and we know something life-changing will result from it; we just don’t know what or how it is she gets to that point. We know there’s love and that fifteen year old Pearl is connected to Amiel, but there’s such a strong sense of desperation throughout, a sense of inevitability that nearly takes your breath away. It’s clear that Pearl is looking back from some point in the future; yet it never feels as if she’s withholding anything from you. It’s more like the story is simply unfolding organically, but with a glimpse of the end which only whets your appetite. You think you know how it will end, but every ounce of your readerly being hopes you’re wrong. The story itself is overlaid with want want want, but we all know that at fifteen, want always feels more like need need need, so it made sense that I felt that too. Indeed, DARK WATER captures the very essence of what it means to be fifteen.

There’s not a whole lot of action in this, at least not until nearing the end—not in the same sense as HUNGER GAMES or the like—although it isn’t a static story either. It was moving and flowing the entire time. But certainly, DARK WATER is more character driven, and perhaps that’s why it felt, in part, like such an emotional book for me. And the voice was so unbelievably genuine, so…fifteen. I truly felt like I was experiencing the world through the eyes of a real girl, not just some blank canvas that will let a reader fill in the white space with her own personality. And yet, while her personality was very distinct, I felt like she experienced so many of the same sort of crushing emotions I felt at the same age. Don’t get me wrong, she wasn’t all angsty and OMGtheDRAMA! It was far more subtle than that, more real and intense, like a mature soul facing the realities of life for the first time.

And the prose was simply astounding. I don’t know what more to say aside from…WOW. I felt my own writerly envy kicking in. Just an example:

If he had run, I could have chased him and known what I was doing, because I know how to be eight, nine, ten, and eleven, but he stood up and looked as confused as I felt (ARC 180-1)

Like I said, fifteen. At fifteen, we have no idea how to live inside of ourselves, and yet we long to be a part of the world, to not only know who we are, but to feel alive. Laura McNeal captured that feeling beautifully.(less)

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Feb 27, 2012 Demonic Circus Princess rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: the patient

Shelves: never-finished

I really hate giving this a negative review, but I just have to. I wasn't able to finish this book, and for one main reason:

WHEN WILL THE PLOT START?

The writing was good, the humor was great, but there was just nothing exciting going on. We're told about Pearl's days out with Greenie, her happiness over Amiel, her disiking of her father, blah blah blah---but that's all it is. The everyday life of Pearl, with very little interesting occurrence. It was just too slow paced.

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Jun 17, 2011 Michelle M. added it · review of another edition

Introduction
The author of this book is Laura McNeal. The title of this book is dark water. This book is basically about how pearl starts to like this boy and then he starts to like her back later on in the book. This book is basically was about how the girl pearl starts to like this boy that her uncle had hired to work for him. The book that connects to this book is the teenage love affair. The teen age love affair that connects to this book because this boy that used to like her was saw her dri...more Introduction
The author of this book is Laura McNeal. The title of this book is dark water. This book is basically about how pearl starts to like this boy and then he starts to like her back later on in the book. This book is basically was about how the girl pearl starts to like this boy that her uncle had hired to work for him. The book that connects to this book is the teenage love affair. The teen age love affair that connects to this book because this boy that used to like her was saw her driving one day and she was talking to her and her boy friend thought he was trying to make him jealous but she really wasn’t. This book is basically was about how the girl pearl starts to like this boy that her uncle had hired to work for him then she started to like him and so pearl started to talk to him.
Craft and structure
“They’ve deported one of my guys.”pg. 9 Deported means to return to where you came from. One surprise was that when pearl was a restaurant with greenie and Hicky and Pearl had saw her father and he took her home and she didn’t eat. The point of view of this book is first person point of view.
Theme
The theme of this book is romantic. Pearl likes Amiel and trying to talk to him. The theme of this book has been developed because you can see that it deals with romantic parts because they always running into each other for some reason.
Characterization
The author develop the main character through indirect because Pearl always tells the reader her thoughts and feelings about Amiel. The weakness that these characters have in the dark water is that Pearl had a big problem with trying to talk things out with Amiel. I feel that the author characterization contributed toward the novel the reader clear characterization.
Conclusion
I enjoyed the ending part because that’s the part where she chooses her family or her love and she had chosen her love. I would recommend this novel to a friend because it is a good book. The part that is good is the part where she and Amiel start to sending each other notes letters and that’s how they started to like each other then they was meeting by the lake.

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Feb 06, 2011 Kayla rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The novel, Dark Water by Laura McNeal grabbed my interest after I'd read the short description of the book off of the Barnes and Noble website. However, I was disappointed by the book, overall. The story was slow-moving, predictable, and to be quite frank, dull. Nothing terribly exciting happened,and the most exciting event in the book is given away in the very beginning, which was a poor choice on the writer's behalf. It didn't actually get interesting until around page 220. The only reason I k...more

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Jun 21, 2011 Tonae rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Dark water by Laura mcneal really grabed my attetion becuase this book goes threw a series of teenage love and scarafice. Dark water touches based on a young 16 teenage girl named pearl who is scaraviceing everything for Amieal de la cruz Guerrero whos 17 and is an immagrant and he works for preal uncle hoyt. Both amieal and Pearl have dis silent great conncetion. This book has to deal with love and sacrafice and how Pearl is giving the choice to choose bettween her family or Amieal.

Craft and st...more

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Jun 17, 2011 Ayanna rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The book i just read today is Dark Water by Laura McNeal.To me the book was ok. even though i didnt finish reading the book, it wasnt that entertaining it was okey. when i read something that last for months (i mean like more than three months) i get less and less interested in it. And thats how i finished my book on friday june 9.
the theme in this story is relationships are not always perfect. sometimes love gets interrupted by lots of things that comes in their way.for example,when both of you...more

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Dec 02, 2011 Erin Forson rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Dark Water
by Laura McNeal
This smoky, rich, and sophisticated story is told through the voice of Pearl, a young woman who has moved to her Uncle’s California avocado farm with her mother following her parents’ divorce. Pearl, still reeling from her father’s abandonment, feels herself falling in love with Amiel, a Mexican immigrant worker on her Uncle’s farm. When wildfires threaten to destroy her Uncle’s farm, and to kill Amiel who lives illegally in the woods, Pearl must decide if she will risk...more

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Apr 06, 2011 Khornberger rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a somewhat mesmerizing novel about a girl named Pearl whose live has just been upended by her father. He has left her and her mother virtually homeless and penniless. As a result, they move onto Pearl's uncle's California avocado ranch. The relationship is a bit strained, but the reader soon sees that the origin occurred prior to their financial reliance upon her uncle's family and mainly lies with her aunt. Pearl has actually grown up locally and has been close with her cousin since chi...more

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Dec 19, 2011 06danielle L. rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: book-reports

Pages: 287

Dark water Is a fun book but is alittle slow. You realy have to get into it to like it. the main characters are Pearl she is the main character she is fun and outgoing unlike many she has two differnt eye colors one is blue the other is brown.the blue one sees the presnt the brown sees the fuiter. Next is her couisen robby he is very searious and wants to get school done he dose not like to goof off. they have fun and like adventure pearl loves to hike she falls in love with a boy name...more

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Jan 30, 2011 Eliana rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

In Fallbrook, CA, there are two seasons: green grass and fire alert. Pearl DeWitt lives with her shell of a mother in a cottage in the midst of an avocado grove. After Pearl's father left the family, the DeWitt household is in a constant state of despair, broken only by short bursts of insignificant happiness. Until Pearl finds herself strangely attracted to an almost mute migrant worker, Amiel. As her life falls apart, Amiel is the only sense of stability that Pearl can rely on. Amiel is the on...more

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Sep 12, 2011 Wisteriouswoman rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Excellent if you don’t mind unhappy endings. In the real world there are consequences to every teens actions and this book spells it out clearly.
Pearl and her mother live for free in an old cottage on Pearl’s uncle’s avocado ranch in California. The suffering that Pearl’s mother goes through because her husband puts himself first and ditches his family responsibilities will resonate with many teens that have experiences this same scenario.
The story centers on Pearl’s relationship with her cou...more

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Jun 17, 2011 Tania W rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Introduction
Dark Water by Laura McNeal, romantic drama about a girl that live in Fallbrook, California were it is sunny most of the time during the year. Pearl, the main character, has to make a hard decision between her family and the immigrant boyfriend that she wishes to have one day. Her choice would fall upon the life or death of her love ones, she quickly learns that love would make you do many crazy things. She has to learn to be responsible and smart about the choices that she makes, on...more Introduction
Dark Water by Laura McNeal, romantic drama about a girl that live in Fallbrook, California were it is sunny most of the time during the year. Pearl, the main character, has to make a hard decision between her family and the immigrant boyfriend that she wishes to have one day. Her choice would fall upon the life or death of her love ones, she quickly learns that love would make you do many crazy things. She has to learn to be responsible and smart about the choices that she makes, on page 164 it shows that she the secret that she tried to keep wasn't that much of a secret to her aunt. When her aunt first helped out Amiel that was when she saw that her love for him was hard to to stay hidden.
Craft and Structure
Dark Water doesn't have tricky words that you wouldn't be able to find out and understand, Lantana means a numerous number of plants and flowers in a bouquet. In the book i didn't really know what the word means by the context clues, so i went on dictionary.com and looked up the word. It tells you the meaning of the word and different forms of the word that you could use. The number of words that a student would have difficulty on varies between persons. The unique aspects of the plot would be a romantic fiction. Its in one person point of view, by the story being in first person, it would help the reader with understanding the story, because its told by the person that went through the most and knew everything that was going on. She has to debate with herself between her true love or her family and friends that been with her all along. It is a first person novel, she is telling the story through her eyes, she tells the readers what she is thinking.
Theme
By reading Dark Water you could learn the authors messages of making hard decisions on your life and sometimes you do what's best for you and not want everyone wants you to do. "'Where are you pearl?' 'i'm fine, I had to go check on someone' you had to go check on someone?'" This shows that in her opinion her love for Amiel is worth fighting for and she thinks that she would go through anything just to know that he is safe and unharmed.
Characterization
Some things that he main character went through was not having her father in her life and having to worrie about her mother and her job issue, she doesn't have any siblings and the only friends that she have is her older cousin and her best friend Greene. But even though they are her friends it seems like they are all recopied with their own problems, her best friend has a new boyfriend that never seems it leave her side, and her cousin has to worrie about her college girlfriend cheating on him with his own father. Pearl has no one to run to except Amiel the immigrant boy toy that is afraid if he go to an area with too many people the police would send him right back across the border or throw him in jail. With all this going on it would be hard to keep up, but the thing that you would really need to focus on is the relationship between that is the root situation in her life that she focus the most on.
Conclusion
Dark Water was a very inserting book at the start of it, if you are like me, you wouldn't really enjoy it that much, but once you get to the middle of it, the book starts to draw you in. If you are a person that are into romantic fiction then you would be inserted in this book, i would recommend Dark Water to you. My favorite parts in the book would be when she would go see Amiel, i would relate to her when she would go though her way just to see him and just to spend time with him. She didn't care how severe the consequences would be she still loved him and would do any thing to make sure that she would be able to see him later on in her life.
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Nov 10, 2012 Carolyn Wilhelm rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

DARK WATER is an excellent YA read and could easily be used in school. In fact,the publisher has a free PDF reading guide for teachers that conforms the the Common Core Standards at Random House
After finding the page, enter "Dark Water" as a search term, and then download the FREE teacher guide.

Although there is a romance in the story, it does not have explicit sex (just some kissing) and is full of the real problems of life teens do and could face. The protagonist is a girl named Pearl, 15, and...more

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About Laura McNeal

Laura McNeal is married to the author Tom McNeal, with whom she has written four young adult novels and one picture book. Her solo debut, Dark Water, was a finalist for the National Book Award in Young People's Literature in 2010.

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Quotes from Dark Water

“Amiel was looking at me with the kind of interest that made my mouth dry up. I was Braille and his eyes were fingers.” — 2 people liked it

“Tu' eres de dos mundos."
He was wrong, of course. You can only belong to one world at a time.” — 2 people liked it

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