They tell me the country looked different back then.They talk of open borders and flowing rivers.They say the world was green.But drought swept across the globe and the United States of the past disappeared under a burning sky. Enora Byrnes lives in the aftermath, a barren world where water has become the global currency. In a life dominated by duty to family and community, Enora is offered a … dominated by duty to family and community, Enora is offered a role within an entity that controls everything from water credits to borders. But it becomes clear that not all is as it seems. From the wasted confines of her small town to the bowels of a hidden city, Enora will uncover buried secrets that hide an unthinkable reality.
As truth reveals the brutal face of what she has become, Enora must decide how far she will go to retain her humanity.
2018 Best Indie Book Award Winner
2020 Connecticut Author Project Winner
~What readers are saying~
“Water is the currency and key to survival; and the concept of water rationing gives this story a distinct originality.” – Author, Lee Hall
“I love this book! If you enjoyed reading Divergent, The Testing or Inside Out, then After the Green Withered is for you.” – Author, Donna Elliott
“The story is engaging, well-written and flows beautifully.” – Author, Joey Paul
“Extremely believable story of a possible future for humanity and our planet, told through the voice of a young woman trapped within a system that is turning her into someone she doesn’t wish to become. Well written and riveting.” -Goodreads Review
“After the Green Withered by Kristin Ward is an expertly penned book with a unique and interesting concept of a devastated world.”-Amazon Review
“This is a horrifying dystopian society. Horrifying because I could see this happening realistically.” – Amazon Review
“This is a dystopian book full of suspense and great world building. It was a page-turner for sure. I really enjoyed it and can’t wait to read more!”-Amazon Review
”A gripping read that kept me on the edge of my seat.”- Goodreads Review
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Best Indie Book Award Winner
Very thought provoking and the world building was impeccable. A gripping read that kept me on the edge of my seat.
This book is so realistic for a YA/ Dystopian book. Keep in mind this is only my second YA/Dystopian book I’ve read. When I started reading I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it but as I kept reading, I was intrigued.
When I read I analyze the book(s) to see if they could possibly happen in real life or today’s world and verdict is: I can see it happening in a worst case scenario. I do hope this never happens in today’s world.
This book is a labor of love and the book came from fragmented notes that the author made. To describe this book in 1 word is WOW!!
This book exceeded my expectations and I highly recommend you buy this book and the sequel as well as read them. You won’t be disappointed. If I really liked the book you know it must be good because I have high standards.
If your interested check Kristin Ward out, you’ll be glad you did.
Book source ~ Book Tour. My review is voluntary and honest.
The world is barren and water is power for the Corporation that rules it in this YA Dystopian about Enora Byrnes and the choices made for her that she has to live with or die because of. Trust me when I say her tale will hurt you so good.
This book is scary because we could easily end up like Enora and everyone else in this story. It’s depressing as hell, but in a good way. Does that even make sense? I mean, it’s a great dystopian tale about what could happen if our climate changes so horribly that water becomes scarce and everything green just dies. It makes me appreciate that we aren’t that bad. Yet. We still have time to turn our planet around. In Enora’s world it’s so much worse than she could ever imagine, or that I could imagine. And I can imagine a lot. Oh, man, I do not envy her discovery.
When faced with an impossible choice what would you do? Toe the line with head down or resist and probably end up dying a painful death? It’s not a simple choice by any means and Enora’s internal conflict shows throughout the entire book. Should she? Shouldn’t she? What can she do? She’s just one person. Or is she?
The world building is decent even if it slows the narrative a bit in the beginning. The characters are pretty well-defined and the conflict, both external and internal, is nail-biting. I took off for the slow beginning and because Enora had a tendency to irritate me a bit at times. Even with the detractions I had a hard time putting the book down. This is one YA Dystopian you should not miss.
Questions about morality and privilege are at the forefront of Author Kristin Ward’s dystopian saga about a 17-year-old young woman caught up in a world she cannot escape—A world which forces her to help eliminate those who do not conform to the strict, grossly unfair rationing and regulations that were placed on the majority of the surviving population after the world’s water reserves are sucked dry.
Author Kristin Ward introduces her main protagonist as an individual with little to hold on to in the material world, but much to bear on a young soul yearning for any joy or happiness to enter her bleak and bleary world. Enora’s thought process as she successfully trains and carries out mission after mission to eradicate what her superiors deem as threats to society is chillingly realistic and thought-provoking as she forcefully comes to realize that she is turning against her own people. Even as she receives pats on the back from her superiors and is living a better lifestyle, Enora is aware that she is forced to be a weapon against the poor, starving, and destitute of her world in order to protect the entitled and elite classes within the global government—the megalithic, world-dominating DMC corporation. What results is an in-your-face, spine-tingling read that shocks and awes as it presents one moral dilemma after another, resulting in an expected, but nevertheless shocking choice by Enora between the man she’s grown to care too much for and her future with DMC.
Ward’s tale is well written and is quite pertinent to our current age’s issues with government conglomerates, corporate influences on society, global warming, and future possibilities of mass extinctions. One cannot read this novel and come away without a sense that our world must take notice of the messages contained in her story.
“After the Green Withered” does contain violence, a government training teenagers as lethal military enforcers, a graphic description of a mass grave, and discussions on genetic experimentation, so I recommend it as a Teen to Adult read only. Although this book is currently classified under Amazon’s genres as a “Children’s Book”, I do not feel it is at all appropriate for young children, and so I highly recommend this novel only for ages 13 and up.
An interesting look at a bleak future.
The prose in the story was quite strong, and the descriptions and worldbuilding quite well done. Where it lacked for me was the character interactions and motivations. I struggled to relate to Enora and wished the novel could have spent longer lingering on character interactions, as that is where her character shone through the most.
Wow! What a ride! This is a truly great book with a terrifying future that could actually happen. It is heavy on the morality and privilege question and the choices that Enora must make are ones that we should be looking at ourselves. This is an extremely relevant book and very thought provoking. One word of warning – its a cliff hanger.
**** SPOILER ALERT ****
“After The Green Withered” is my first introduction to Ward’s writing. I look forward to reading more from this author.
Ward does an excellent job of world building as she tells a gripping, thought provoking story. It will be interesting to see where the author takes the reader in future volumes of this series.
I definitely recommend this book.
In the interest of transparency: I was given a free review copy of this book and I am voluntarily sharing this review. This is my own honest opinion.
The sixth mass extinction in Earth’s history, precipitated by unchecked drilling and a variety of environmental disasters, has occurred and the planet is in the midst of a decades-long drought. The nation has closed its borders and the military was brought in to control widespread violence as water dwindled and rationing got serious. As the story opens, the U.S. has been consolidated into 18 states based on river basins, the remaining population clustered into cities in each state, couples are limited to one child, and water is controlled by one all-powerful agency: the Drought Mitigation Corporation (or DMC.)
Enora Byrnes, now in her last year of school, has grown up in Prineville and this has always been the way things were. As she approaches graduation, she is expected to make a decision on her future – how she is going to contribute to society henceforth, as an adult. Undecided and with few choices open to her, all she knows is that she does not want to go into the DMC. Her best friend, Bram, a few years older and of the same mind had been selected by the DMC never to be seen or heard from again. The DMC was for the elite in town: their children groomed for service since birth. Enora was not one of the elite. But as graduation nears, Enora is singled out for the DMC anyway and begins her training in addition to her school work eventually ending up at a training base several hours away.
With her recruitment, Enora begins to see improvements in the lives of her parents: better housing, increased water credits, better and more food. Enora feels obligated and stuck especially when things that the DMC does don’t jive with what she and the rest of the population has always been told.
When she and her partner are sent to the town of Renascence to neutralize a dangerous rebellion their doubts about the DMC and their role in the agency mount when the rebels turn out to be mere children and the DMC is hiding some horrible secrets below ground and behind locked doors in secret facilities there.
I really enjoyed this tale of a dystopian U.S. The author did a fabulous job of creating the world that Enora lives in. Enora seems like such a typical teenager on the brink of high school graduation with the usual angst associated with fitting in, living up to her parents’ expectations, friends, and young love. Then there are some terribly tough decisions about her future and the horrible revelations that gradually unfold. And the story’s not over – there’s a Book 2! This story kept my attention and kept me reading late into the night because I couldn’t find a good spot to stop. It is action-filled and thought-provoking. I recommend this book to readers that enjoy young adult books and those that like dystopian/post-apocalyptic tales as well.