Only He Can Bring What They Need to Survive.

In the year 2250, water is scarce, and those who control it control everything. Sixteen-year-old Luca has struggled with this truth, and what it means, his entire life. As the son of the Deliverer, he will one day have to descend to the underground Aquifer each year and negotiate with the reportedly ratlike miners who harvest the world’s fresh water. But he has learned the true control rests with the Council aboveground, a group that has people following without hesitation, and which has forbidden all emotion and art in the name of keeping the peace. And this Council has broken his father’s spirit, while also forcing Luca to hide every feeling that rules his heart.

But when Luca’s father goes missing, everything shifts. Luca is forced underground, and discovers secrets, lies, and mysteries that cause him to reevaluate who he is and the world he serves. Together with his friends and a very alluring girl, Luca seeks to free his people and the Rats from the Council’s control. But Luca’s mission is not without struggle and loss, as his desire to uncover the truth could have greater consequences than he ever imagined.

HORRIBLE! slower that an ant race in molasses uphill. It qas too confusing at the beginning - took till chapter 9-12 that this was a futuristic - dystopian tale. and whats up with the dials??

I really enjoyed this story, yes its another dystopian young adult novel, but I think this one goes deeper than the typical government is bad. The people are controlled much more than other novels I've read or movies I've watched. They are not even allowed to feel certain feelings and are punished if they do, which you can imagine is not fun.

The characters were a bit difficult to get a good sense of who they truly are, sometimes this is good in times where you don't know if they will betray a character or not, but most of the time its frustrating, character development is good for some but lacking in others.

The ride the story provides was exciting, I wanted to keep reading, sometimes trading sleep to continue, but there are some janky moments where the collection of information is out of nowhere, characters are finding out important bits of plot through ridiculous means. Then there is a Christianity tie-in at the end of the book which I felt was not needed and a bit forced. I don't mind religion in novels but in this case it felt out of place and never was even mentioned, the only clue was a group of people called wishers and the fact that they pray.

Overall, even with some hiccups here and there, I really did like this book. I'm definitely interested in reading more from this author. ( )

The Synopsis:

“In the year 2250, water is scarce, and those who control it control everything. Sixteen-year-old Luca has struggled with this truth, and what it means, his entire life. As the son of the Deliverer, he will one day have to descend to the underground Aquifer each year and negotiate with the reportedly ratlike miners who harvest the world’s fresh water. But he has learned that true control rests with the Council above ground, a group that has people following without hesitation, and which has forbidden all emotion in the name of keeping the peace. This Council has broken his father’s spirit, while also forcing Luca to hide every feeling that rules his heart.

But when Luca’s father goes missing, everything shifts. Luca is forced underground, and discovers secrets and mysteries that cause him to question who he is and the world he serves. Together with his friends and a very alluring girl, Luca seeks to free his people and the Rats from the Council’s control. But Luca’s mission is not without struggle and loss, as his desire to uncover the truth could have greater consequences than he ever imagined.”

Excerpt (back of the book :-)):

“We are often reminded how peaceful our world has become, a world without a police force or prison, where crimes and uprisings have nearly disappeared. But we’ve paid a price. The emotional root of all conflict–fear, anger, love, especially love–is prohibited. The goal of our schooling is to master a life of total self-control. A life without wrinkles, without feeling, without soul. The exercises in school are endless.

But in truth, for most, they’re no longer needed. Generations of life in an emotion-neutral world have bred these dangerous urges out.

Why do I still feel them so strongly?

My Review:

I am not a huge fan of fantasy books, but this one was amazing! Aquifer is full of Christian morals and is a book that makes you think. It is written as if Luca is writing in his own diary, so you know only what Luca knows, you discover what he discovers, and really, you feel like you are Luca as you read through the story.

The storyline was fantastic and so were the subplots. Nothing was predictable and it had a great ending. The only negative thing I have to say about it, is that I had a little trouble understanding what they called everyone, like instead of saying this person was killed, you were to say that they were “undone”, or instead of saying this person was 11 years old, they were simply called an “Eleven”. So it took me a minute to figure those things out, but once I did, the rest of the book flowed smoothly.

As for action, there was quite a bit towards the end, and some of it graphic, but not horrible. Nothing sexual in it either, except one kiss at the very end and holding hands (if you classify that as sexual…). This is a Christian book, so there was also absolutely no cussing or any other bad language.

I highly recommend this book to all my friends and acquaintances!

“I received this book from Book Sneeze/Thomas Nelson for the purpose of this review. All comments and opinions are my own.” ( )

full review http://sarityahalomi.blogspot.com/201...
thoroughly enjoyed how the author described this dystopian future of a world without freshwater on the surface. AQUIFER is a story of highly controlled society, lack of water, children educated by government, lies, family secrets, and betrayal. It’s also a story of friendship and learning to trust. There is violence, death, and dead bodies in this story but it creates a sadness in the reader instead of horror. It was nice to find that the plot takes place around the coast of Australia and it's center New Pert.

There is none explanation how the world came to be so dry, but that was likely due to the lack of knowledge of Luca, who tells the story in first person narrative. In this world, the written word had all but been destroyed, as it is seen as a method that could incite rebellion.

The control of the society rests with the Council of nine above ground, a group that has people following without hesitation, and which has forbidden all emotion in the name of keeping the peace. Everyone had been told lies to keep their emotions in check and daily lifestyle uniform for the greater good of peace and harmony. In a world that demands conformity there are the fearsome Amongus (the council "Law enforcers") tasked with stamping out any hint of individuality or emotion. Every one fear the Amongus who go around with Emotional Detectors ( the Dails). The consequences of these "crimes" warrant either a debriefing, which is a brainwashing, the result of which makes one a numb, walking slave; or the March of the Undone, where the targeted person/persons are marched to the docks, board a boat, row to a certain point of the ocean, clap weighted shackles to their wrists and ankles, and jump overboard. Any reference to a dead person, or to death at all, is referred to as undone. The only people who can go under the dials - are the Wishers, with their faith in the prophecy. They help Luca with whispers into his head.

Luca is a Deliver's son and when he is 16, he is a Deliverer. Generations of one family that goes below once a year to form an agreement to supply water to the "toppers". He will one day have to descend to the underground Aquifer each year and negotiate with the reportedly ratlike miners who harvest the world's fresh water.

One day everything changes and all that has been becomes the biggest "wrinkle" (emotion create wrinkles). When his dad, Massa, disappears Luca knows that something is wrong. His father always knows the way back. As he investigates, someone tries to kill him. Luca suspect that someone decides to force Massa to give up the route.

He know that his father never will give the secret and this is why he probably held alive somewhere. He must complete the task of going underground and bringing water to his world or everything will turn to chaos and everyone will die. He also must find him, because, the only thing that he is missing for being deliver is the start point to the Aquifer.

Along the way, he finds a lot about his history and his family. The life of a deliverer is not all it appears. The Council tried to break his father's spirit, while also forcing Luca to hide every feeling that rules his heart.

Seward, is a pirate and one who occasionally works for the government, retrieving the ones who have been undone. he and Luca meet when Luca need help in retrieving stash of books that he found. Luca then find that Seward is on an expedition for recovery of a body that is dressed like Luca's dad, but they found that it doesn't have the same markings. the council tried to prove the Massa is undone. Seward is both clever and sneaky, he’s also the comic relief in the story. I felt like he was one of the few adults in the book who risks his life to protect Luca and only cares about Luca’s best interest. Seward is not afraid of Amongus and he’s good at tricking them.

Wren - the museum director with her own secrets. She helps Luca and also has no fear of the government. She inspires Luca and teaches him to read.

Walery - One day, when Luca is about to witness the undone of some people, he saves one of them: Walery. He doesn't know Walery that well, but he still decides that it's not right for him to die. Luca keeps Walery in his house and tries to keep him alive whilst his father makes the agreement with the Water Rats.

Lendi, one of Luca's friends from school. Lendi was really awesome and was there for Luca most of the time.

Talya, the daughter of a Water Rat, was pretty nice. When Luca meets Talya (Her), a Rat girl, she stirs feelings inside him he’s never before felt. She fell for him too and her trust in him didn't waver till they meet Walery . ( )