Aquifer

July 22, 2013
Friesen (Aldo's Fantastical Movie Palace) has constructed a future world where fresh water has become exceedingly scarce. Luca is the sixteen-year-old successor to his father, a Deliverer, who makes an annual journey to the underground Rats who control the largest fresh water source: the Aquifer. Luca struggles with daily existence and also with his emotions; emotional expression is punishable by the formidable Amongus, a kind of thought police run by the Council of Nine who rule the Toppers, the people of the surface. When Luca's father does not return from his journey below, the Amongus hunt Luca, so he flees underground for refuge. There he discovers a massive conspiracy that challenges him to reconsider what he thought was true about the world, his identity, and his purpose. Friesen's world is a morally gray one that fleshes out the motivations and struggles of his characters but gives no easy answers for his readers. Though the magnitude of his philosophical questions sometimes feel bigger than the story, Friesen nonetheless offers an entertaining framework for teenage readers to start asking serious questions about emotional responsibility, acting on faith and intuition, the potential blindness of good intentions, and the nature of freedom.

October 1, 2013
Grades 7-10 In a futuristic Australia, fresh drinking water is controlled by a group called the Council of Nine. Each year, the Deliverer must travel to the Aquifer, the water source, bearing gifts of light to a devolved race known as Water Rats to ensure that water will continue to be given. As the Deliverer's son, Luca is well aware of his future duty, and when his father fails to return after a mission, Luca begins to uncover a conspiracy brewingas well as secrets about his own family. Some world-building aspects of this dystopian adventure are not fully fleshed out, and the plot suffers from some pacing issues, though patient readers will be rewarded with late revelations. Luca is an engaging character torn between whom to trust and what to believe, easy material for teen readers to relate to. Subtle religious themes run through the novel but are never overt enough to turn off nonreligious readers.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2014
In 2250, access to water brings significant power. After his father disappears, Luca attempts to be a water bringer, though a mysterious culture underground, a gorgeous girl, and lots of folks who don't want him to succeed all shake up what he thought was his sole purpose. Unsubtle moralism, a forced romance, and some convenient plot twists mar the vivid futuristic setting.

(Copyright 2014 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)