We are back with another Teen Tuesdays Book Talk! Today's read is "The Water Year" by Max Howard.
Sophie lives with her father and younger sister, and helps run the family bakery. She has a crush on Ruben, the delivery boy, but he won't even look her way!
Sophie's father and his friends regularly go out for "guy time" out in the desert - Sophie assumes they drink and camp out and have a good time. At least that's what her father says. But why do they take their guns?
When a visit to a friend's desert bonfire uncovers a dead body of an immigrant girl and some slashed water jugs, Sophie begins to question everything.
Sophie discovers an organization called Water Is Life, which provides water for undocumented immigrants trying to cross the desert into the United States. She must pick a side and choose what's right.
Callie's Opinion: A short read with social commentary. Although the plot is a bit predictable and the side characters can be annoying, I still recommend this. It sheds light on the issues of undocumented immigrants attempting to cross the Southern border and organizations that want to help - a topic that we as Hoosiers don't always think about in the Midwest. For more information, here is an NPR article that discusses this topic.
The Water Year by Max Howard is available to checkout on Hoopla!