Ruby Prosser dreams of escaping the Congregation and the early-nineteenth century lifestyle that’s been practiced since the community was first ens...
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Jan 05, 2012
Dracolibris
rated it: 
Ruby is a teenager, but one who has been growing up for a long time. A very long time. She, her mother, and their fellow "Congregants" are prisoners on a mountain, forced every day to use cups and spoons to collect water and dew drops from the undersides of plants in the forest. They are rarely fed, and if they don't meet their daily quota, the beatings are usually brutal and severe, and almost exclusively focused on Ruby's mother. But that is OK, because every night, Ruby treats h
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Dec 22, 2010
3.5 stars
I thought this book was going to be a dystopia but I think it actually takes place in today’s world but the community Ruby lives in is almost like a cult community. The “slaves” are all followers of Otto, a man whose blood keeps them all alive hundreds of years later and can heal horrific wounds. He disappeared one day and his followers are left praying for his return even after they are enslaved by Darwin and used to harvest the water that he believes is what keeps them all al More...
I thought this book was going to be a dystopia but I think it actually takes place in today’s world but the community Ruby lives in is almost like a cult community. The “slaves” are all followers of Otto, a man whose blood keeps them all alive hundreds of years later and can heal horrific wounds. He disappeared one day and his followers are left praying for his return even after they are enslaved by Darwin and used to harvest the water that he believes is what keeps them all al More...
Nov 06, 2011
Kayt
rated it: 
I'm just going to explain the entire thing, because the book's not worth reading.
Ruby longs to escape from the only life she knows, as part of the Congregation ruled by a terrible Overseer who demands the special Water they collect that provides immortality. But only a select few know that it's Ruby's blood that makes the Water special. Also she's 200 years old, falls in love, and her father may be Jesus.
This is your typical teenage girl-in-repressive-society-starts-think More...
Ruby longs to escape from the only life she knows, as part of the Congregation ruled by a terrible Overseer who demands the special Water they collect that provides immortality. But only a select few know that it's Ruby's blood that makes the Water special. Also she's 200 years old, falls in love, and her father may be Jesus.
This is your typical teenage girl-in-repressive-society-starts-think More...
Oct 27, 2011
Jenben8426
rated it:
Ruby has lived with her mother and their congregation of Saints in the deep wood of New York for a very long time--200 years long time. In 1812 when Ruby's mother married the mysterious and powerful Otto their church was formed. Otto was a healer and all who came to him and partook of his communion would not only be healed, but would stop aging in the way that normal humans do. They could live far longer. Then Otto left, and the townspeople of Hoosick Falls were suspicious of this new congre
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Jun 14, 2011
Liz
rated it: 
A lot of the negative reviews on here seem to stem from the readers having been mislead that this is a dystopian novel. It is not, and was not intended to be. Instead it's an interesting play on the vampire/paranormal romance genre mixed with a realistic cult story. The book raises a lot of questions: What is faith? Are our motivations for what we do noble or selfish, and how can we be sure? What is love, and what happens when it is withheld, taken for granted, or abused?
Unlike a lot o More...
Unlike a lot o More...
Jun 05, 2011
Paradoxical
rated it:
Argh. Just. Argh to this entire book. It has a somewhat (sorta, anyway) interesting concept, but the execution falls flat on its face, and I pretty much want to punt every single character in this book somewhere far away from me.
Basically the story is this: The main character, Ruby, is part of this cult-like group (her Congregation) that is being held prisoner (basically slaves) for Darwin and his group of Overseers. The Congregation goes out every day to collect water from leaves/p More...
Basically the story is this: The main character, Ruby, is part of this cult-like group (her Congregation) that is being held prisoner (basically slaves) for Darwin and his group of Overseers. The Congregation goes out every day to collect water from leaves/p More...
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Apr 06, 2011
Emma
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Drought is not one of the best books that I have read lately. There were some serious crises in world-building, character development and plotting. I was so disappointed. :(
Ruby is an engaging and likable protagonist. She does seem to know the difference between right and wrong, and she rebels against this society that she is a part of. When I first picked this book up, I thought it was going to be a dystopian - not the case - and was kind of confused as to why the entire situation was ha More...
Ruby is an engaging and likable protagonist. She does seem to know the difference between right and wrong, and she rebels against this society that she is a part of. When I first picked this book up, I thought it was going to be a dystopian - not the case - and was kind of confused as to why the entire situation was ha More...
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Mar 24, 2011
Vicky
rated it:
Ruby dreams of escaping the Congregation, the slaver, Darwin West and his cruel overseers, and the killing work of gathering Water. Water is what keeps the congregants alive for hundreds of years. It has incredible healing properties. Unfortunately, it is not the water, scraped from leaves and plants with spoons and collected cup by cup by the slaves, that keeps everyone alive, but the secret ingredient that is added to the water – drops of Ruby’s blood. Nobody but the congregants’ elders know t
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Feb 21, 2011
Lissa
rated it:
Drought is a terrific story -- "the haunting story of one community's thirst for life, and the dangerous struggle of the only girl who can grant it."
The background: A capital-C rural, cultishly religious Community was enslaved in 1812 after making a seemingly advantageous bargain with the leader of a local town. For 200 years, the people have survived with little changing in their age, appearance, desires, dreams, beliefs, or their daily existence of back-breaking labor, se More...
The background: A capital-C rural, cultishly religious Community was enslaved in 1812 after making a seemingly advantageous bargain with the leader of a local town. For 200 years, the people have survived with little changing in their age, appearance, desires, dreams, beliefs, or their daily existence of back-breaking labor, se More...
Feb 15, 2011
Tiffany
rated it:
This one was a hard one to rate for me. It almost got two stars just for the way it ended. it had a fairly interesting premise and started out ok, it just left me unfulfilled as a reader. it could have been sooooo much better, I just felt it was written poorly overall and the author jumped around, had things not quite believable, and way way too many questions left unanswered.
Don't read ahead if you don't want any spoilers, and I seem to have more to say about a book that I didn't More...
Don't read ahead if you don't want any spoilers, and I seem to have more to say about a book that I didn't More...
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Feb 05, 2011
cecilia
rated it:
Pam Bachorz weaves a rich and dark tale about a teenaged girl who is stuck between a rock and a hard place. At times, I had more questions than answers while reading - and even at the end, I think drought leaves the readers wanting to find out what happens next and what had happened before to lead up to Ruby's world as she knew it.
The great thing about drought is, once I let go of what I know, I really got into the flow of Ruby's wretched world. Hers was a simple though horrible life: More...
The great thing about drought is, once I let go of what I know, I really got into the flow of Ruby's wretched world. Hers was a simple though horrible life: More...
Jan 29, 2011
Ellz
rated it:
My thoughts...Drought, the second book by author Pam Bachorz is not a happy go lucky story. It is dark and twisted. It left me cringing and covering my eyes with despair, yet I could not stop reading.
The story takes place in modern times, though it is hard to tell. The main characters, or Congregation, live under the control of a tyrant named Darwin West. This is probably one of the scariest villains I have read in YA literature. The man is evil. Ruby, the heroine, and other membe More...
The story takes place in modern times, though it is hard to tell. The main characters, or Congregation, live under the control of a tyrant named Darwin West. This is probably one of the scariest villains I have read in YA literature. The man is evil. Ruby, the heroine, and other membe More...
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Jan 19, 2011
Missie
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Jan 13, 2011
Margo
rated it:
Teens that really like all kinds of dystopian fiction may like this new release by Pam Bachorz. Personally, I found the endless scenes of slave-like humans collecting precious water drop-by-drop from leaves tedious rather than shocking or riveting. The premise is that the members of this community have been living for 200 years without dying because they partake of water nourished with special blood. I don't know if this novel is supposed to be a Christian allegory of some kind, because the bloo
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Jan 04, 2011
Sara
rated it: 
Drought follows Ruby, a girl with blood that heals. Ruby is the Daughter of Otto, her cult's leader who has left his flock. The congregation willingly allows themselves to be enslaved and beaten as they gather Water (water pulled off plants with a Drop of Ruby's blood which makes it magical so they can live almost forever). The group takes a drop of Water as communion and wait for Otto's return.
I was excited by the initial premise of this book but after a hundred pages of rolling my More...
I was excited by the initial premise of this book but after a hundred pages of rolling my More...
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Jan 28, 2012
*Lyvia* {The Book Queen}
rated it: 
Ruby thirst 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 could be so simple.
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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 could be so simple.
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Aug 01, 2011
StorySeekers
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Jul 31, 2011
Mrs. ReaderPants
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More reviews at http://readerpants.blogspot.com
RECOMMENDED FOR: MS, HS
OVERALL RATING: Highly recommended
WHAT I LIKED: When I start reading a book, I try very, very hard to keep my opinion uninfluenced by other reviews. Very positive reviews from others will lead me to high expectations, and I won't end up liking a book the way I might have otherwise. When I added Drought to my Goodreads list, I did notice the very low rating it has gotten from other rea More...
Feb 25, 2011
Amanda
rated it:
Drought has been on the edges of my reading radar for a while. For probably three or four months before its release, I had it on my to read list because I was interested in what appeared to be a fascinating dystopian world with a clear water conservation/environmentalism message. When January rolled around and I couldn't find the book (and I saw its lukewarm reviews) I decided to let it drop off my to read list and focus on other things. When "Dystopian February" rolled around, and dro
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Sep 18, 2011
Brielle
rated it:
It was a very good book and was somewhat reminiscent of Tuck Everlasting. It seemed like Pam Bachorz wrote a story of what might have happened if Tuck (called Otto in Drought) fell in love only this time his love took his gift of immortality.
A big difference between the two stories is that it is through Otto's blood that the immortality is given. His blood also cures any mortal wound basically overnight. This may be why he is worshiped even 200 years after he mysteriously vanished/lef More...
A big difference between the two stories is that it is through Otto's blood that the immortality is given. His blood also cures any mortal wound basically overnight. This may be why he is worshiped even 200 years after he mysteriously vanished/lef More...
Jul 04, 2011
Megan (Book Brats)
rated it:
From Book Brats!
The Village meets slavery meets a cult? Trust me, it sounds a LOT more interesting than it ends up being.
As you might have guessed, I was rather interested in this book based on the plot alone. Yes, it has bad reviews on Amazon and Goodreads, but it does not live up to the promise the plot gives. In fact, it falls flat thanks to 1.) stupid characters, 2.) implausible plot developments, and 3.) an ending that wrapped up 400 pages worth of action in 10 minut More...
The Village meets slavery meets a cult? Trust me, it sounds a LOT more interesting than it ends up being.
As you might have guessed, I was rather interested in this book based on the plot alone. Yes, it has bad reviews on Amazon and Goodreads, but it does not live up to the promise the plot gives. In fact, it falls flat thanks to 1.) stupid characters, 2.) implausible plot developments, and 3.) an ending that wrapped up 400 pages worth of action in 10 minut More...
Mar 22, 2011
Jenny
rated it:
This was a seriously fantastic story to read. It had so many things going on at different times that it was almost never dull or boring. There were so many things going on that even the narrator wasn't aware of in spite of the fact she was the one telling the story. It was fascinating to watch how Ms. Bachorz wove into the story subtle clues to what would happen in the final 50 or so pages. And let me tell you, the last 50 or so pages flew by so quickly that I found myself on the last page and w
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Feb 04, 2011
Hderaps
rated it:
When I first heard that Pam Bachorz had written another dystopian book, I was overjoyed. I absolutely loved Candor and couldn't wait for another book by the same author. At first, I enjoyed this new book and when a bit starry eyed by the possibilities the world of this book held. Unfortunately, though, this love was short lived and was quickly replaced by lots and lots of confusion.
Drought is the story of a sort of cult, the "Congregation," who has lived for hundreds of More...
Drought is the story of a sort of cult, the "Congregation," who has lived for hundreds of More...
Dec 04, 2011
Nordic21
rated it:
This book is not what I expected. It reminds me of "Tucker Ever Lasting". The Congregants have been slaves for about 200 years. They have to harvest water for Darwin. Rudy has a special gift that has kept the slaves alive for so many years. When a new, young overseer comes, and he is nothing like the other overseers Rudy has seen. This one is kind and not eager to punish the Congregants. Him and Rudy get close, sometimes to close, and this makes Rudy wonder about her life, and what she
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Feb 10, 2011
This review was first posted on http://www.rubysreads.com.
I'm so confused. When I read the description of this book, I thought it was supposed to be a Dystopina. Having read it, I'm convinced that it's not. Drought is unlike any book I've read lately. It reads kind of like an allegory or a fable but, also, not. I can't quite define it--and I've no doubt that the marketing team sat around a big table looking at each other blankly until someone said, "Hey, it's called Drought, More...
I'm so confused. When I read the description of this book, I thought it was supposed to be a Dystopina. Having read it, I'm convinced that it's not. Drought is unlike any book I've read lately. It reads kind of like an allegory or a fable but, also, not. I can't quite define it--and I've no doubt that the marketing team sat around a big table looking at each other blankly until someone said, "Hey, it's called Drought, More...
Dec 11, 2010
Mary
rated it:
Ruby is 200 years old and the youngest person in her community. Yeah, I had to read over that bit a couple of times before it sunk in. Really, she’s about 15 or 16 I’m guessing, but has aged incredibly slowly due to what her people call Water. In her community, everyone slaves away (quite literally—there are Overseers who beat them with chains and starve them when they don’t do what they’re supposed to) collecting water using spoons and pewter cups and putting it in huge cisterns where it become
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Jun 20, 2011
Astrid
rated it:
I wanted to like this but there were so many things that did not tie together or make sense. The title character has been held prisoner for the last 200 years, collecting water from plants with a spoon and cup (really, how does one do that?!!) They are said to be a cult. the prophet, her father, has been gone almost 200 years and they endure, believing that he will come back. The man who is cruel and controls this camp has been around since they first came. It is her blood that keeps everyone ag
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Apr 17, 2011
Laura
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Jan 24, 2011
Kate (I Just Wanna Sit Here and Read!)
rated it:
DROUGHT, by Pam Bachorz, is one of those books that, while reading it, made me absolutely insane. Let me explain. There is a lot of information thrown at you in a short amount of time. I had to figure out where this was taking place and what the rules of this society were. Not much of it is explained, so it is left to the reader to understand as you go along.
The Congregants live in a sort-of 'cult' society where they have very little, except for the Water that has kept them alive for More...
The Congregants live in a sort-of 'cult' society where they have very little, except for the Water that has kept them alive for More...
Nov 09, 2011
Stacy
rated it:
I really enjoyed Pam Bachorz's first novel, CANDOR, so I was excited to pick up a new book from her. And the cover blurb made it sound pretty intriguing.
Unfortunately, it was precisely the kind of book I really don't enjoy; one where the characters make non-sensical decisions and remain mired in problems that make little sense to me for page after page after page. The world-building also didn't work for me, with too little context and no real rationale developed for why the character More...
Unfortunately, it was precisely the kind of book I really don't enjoy; one where the characters make non-sensical decisions and remain mired in problems that make little sense to me for page after page after page. The world-building also didn't work for me, with too little context and no real rationale developed for why the character More...
