Burn the Water is a bleak, blood-soaked, ultimately hopeful YA dystopian novel inspired by Romeo and Juliet, in which the heirs apparent of two brutal armies betray all for love.
In 2425, 300 years after melting ice caps caused the Great Soak, London remains flooded. Two rival armies, the Rogues and the Crowns, have fought for centuries over who rules the "10 percent of the city that [isn't] underwater." Eighteen-year-old Jule, the "fiercest and most famous soldier the Crown Army ever produced," is "also the loneliest." Rafe, also 18, is "the Rogue Army's most venerated captain" yet "broken inside." Both will lead their respective armies someday and currently play vital roles in keeping London a "bloody chaos." When these sworn enemies meet over an old, scavenged Victrola and a collection of centuries-old records in flooded Buckingham Palace, "a miracle" occurs. Rafe falls in love with music, as well as Jule's "lovely... fierce" face; Jule is likewise enamored with the handsome and unguarded Rafe. The teens know they must achieve "a pax" to ensure a safe future for themselves and their Houses but overcoming "hundreds of years of uncivil hatred and slaughter" will be nigh impossible.
The Hunger Games screenwriter Billy Ray's dynamic, post-apocalyptic debut is almost relentlessly dark. His London, composed of "Death. Water. War," is a cautionary tale that's launched by an all-too-possible scenario of climate disaster and biological warfare. But Ray weaves in substantial shards of light via honorable deeds, stolen moments of human connection, and forbidden love. Along with an all-consuming love affair, Ray ultimately offers readers hope in a shape they may not anticipate. --Lynn Becker, reviewer, blogger, and children's book author