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 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 questions 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.
I
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, disappearsLuca
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 .
About the author
I had the perfect life.
I was the grade-school star and the teacher’s pet. The world revolved around me and I suspected it always would. If you ask most people about their life, they don’t begin with fifth grade. But that was a good year.
Illness changed that. I retreated into a shell and escaped into words. Writing a story sucked the pain out of me, at least for a while. That’s when I learned to “feel” on paper. I didn’t think I’d be an author, I didn’t think I’d be much of anything, I was simply writing to survive.
Life changed in college. Health returned, the cloud lifted, and I got my teaching license.
Being a teacher, and being with those kids healed me. Surrounded by them, I relived periods of time stolen by childhood sickness. I was in my glory. But I couldn’t escape storytelling. All those years expressing myself on paper left their mark.
While my students worked, I wrote at my desk. Jerk California, my first book, flowed out of my own “lost years,” but hope fills the pages. Writing it was a beautiful thing to experience.
I now live on a horse farm with my wife, three children, and a growing number of animals.
Our home is on a hill that overlooks a river that snakes through a beautiful valley. We tear along the stream on the 4-wheeler. My three kids race through the pasture and scale the sides of the sand pit; they search for agates and chase wild turkeys that trespass on the gravel road that connects our hill to the rest of the world. I have promised them chickens and horses, but for now they settle for bald eagle and bear. It’s a good place to play and write.
At night, I walk out and listen to the wind rattle paper-thin bark on our birch trees. I stare at stars nobody else has seen and start a bonfire so bright it chases all the stars away. Then, my clothes full of smoke and my mind filled with ideas, I come inside and write until my fingers get heavy on the keyboard.
Illness changed that. I retreated into a shell and escaped into words. Writing a story sucked the pain out of me, at least for a while. That’s when I learned to “feel” on paper. I didn’t think I’d be an author, I didn’t think I’d be much of anything, I was simply writing to survive.
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