All The Water in the World has some truly beautiful writing, and I can see how it could connect deeply with the right reader. The atmosphere is heavy and poetic, and there are moments where the imagery really shines.

But for me, it just didn’t quite come together. I found myself drifting in and out, not fully pulled in by the story or the characters. The pacing felt slow, and while the themes of family and loss are important, I didn’t feel as invested as I wanted to be.

I still respect what the author was aiming for, and I think readers who enjoy lyrical, meditative novels might find a lot more to appreciate. It just wasn’t the right fit for me.

My life got busy for a chunk of time, and this was one of the books that I had hoped to read but didn’t get to until it had disappeared from netgalley. Now that I am catching up on my book reviews, I am putting this book on my list of books to purchse, because I am still interested in reading it.

As someone who lives in NYC, stories about potential disasters in my city kind of freak me out—especially when they're set in a not-so distant future. Despite this, I gobbled up ALL THE WATER IN THE WORLD, largely due to the museum setting. A bit of a slow burn (I wanted it to be a bit more action-packed, tbh), but I still liked!

Eiren Caffall takes us into a future that could happen, with the chaos of storms ramping up and mankind being the victim of chaos and turmoil. What unfolds is a journey of hope and endurance through a changed landscape of survival of the lucky ones. I loved the premise of this book, but will admit it's not a fast paced book, but more of a very very slow pull into this post apocalyptic dystopian world. I would still highly recommend it for it makes you think what you would do in this type of environment and how would you survive. Well done!
*I received a copy of this book from NetGalley. This review is my own opinion*

An emotional and unique survival story with a focus on how togetherness is how humans can survive. It's a chilling vision of a possible future for the planet and an emotional journey through the hardships of living through such drastic climate change. Nonie has her own unique voice in addition to providing the perspective of a child. Much of this book is tough emotionally but it does manage to end on a hopeful note.

This story is set in New York City, in the not-too-distant future which feels closer every day. Climate change has wreaked havoc on the world, and a group of citizens has taken refuge at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) on the west side of Manhattan, where they take care of not only themselves but the museum and its historical artifacts. Most of the story is told from the perspective of Nonie, a pre-teen girl whose mother has died after not being able to take required medicine since the climate tipped and the world as they knew it shut down. After a superstorm, a small surviving group flees AMNH to head north in search of drier land and a future. They navigate the city in a canoe through channels that are shaped by the tops of tall buildings; the Atlantic ocean has overtaken the grid. Ultimately they are planning for the survival of humankind, hopeful that their logbooks and artifacts will be found by a future civilization. This is a slow burn and a long read, and won’t be for readers of dystopian fiction that are expecting a lot of action. Every time I cross the Hudson River I think of what it would be like to have to navigate it in a found boat with a found group of remaining humans. Not before reading this book have I imagined so clearly that I might live to see such an event. Thank you to the author and the publisher, St. Martin’s Press, for making this ARC available through NetGalley.

The writing is pretty, but the story drags and the plot feels underdeveloped. Beautiful imagery can’t make up for the slow pacing and lack of tension.

I wanted to love this book but I never totally grasped the world. I thought it was a Waterworld (the movie) situation but there are still so many standing, functional buildings which didn't make sense. So there are some islands, but I just can’t imagine that even without being flooded, the structures wouldn’t fair well in the human, water-ridden world. I loved the American Museum of Natural History scenes since I’ve visited and could envision it. I did think, though, based on the description, that more of the book would take place in the AMNH, but most of the book wasn’t set there. When I was, it was mostly flashbacks.

I’d like to think there wouldn't be such segregation in a dystopian, apocalyptic world - I feel like racist groups wouldn't do well at survival. A lot of the book talked about groups being separated by “color,” which in and of itself felt racist. I didn’t realize at first when the narrator was talking about “colors” what she actually meant. I thought they literally had color groups (like bands or bandanas or something?). Why not specifically talk about racist and ethnicity, as well.

The main character (and narrator) seems to be autistic. She often narrates about how she doesn’t like to talk out loud much, she doesn’t feel and experience emotions and situations the same as others, and she has some kind of skill that seems to be connected to her quiet demeanor. She can sense the water, such as she knows when a storm is coming, if it’s big or small, etc. This plays into the plot a couple times, but isn’t a massive plot point in any way.

The book is set up in a unique way. There are before and after sequences, but then are are a different before and after. For example, there’s before Nonie (the MC) and her sis Bix lost their mother at some point in their story, so there’s a before and after her death. But there’s also a bit of a present day, which is where the book begins. In this present-day, a hypercane (basically a super hurricane) comes and destroys the AMNH, where they’ve been living most of their lives. So then there becomes and before and after the hurricane. The telling of the story is so clunky and confusing because it’s mostly not in chronological order. There is some order to the “present-day” but everything else is shared somewhat randomly, in connection with some current situations, but it’s just messy and clunky, the chapters incredibly abrupt. I listened to this as an audiobook, and I’d be thrown off that a chapter ended because it wouldn’t feel like a stopping point. It took half the book to settle into how it was being told, the structure of it.

Then the ending felt abrupt too. The final chapters are where we get some major villains other than the water, though “major” feels like an exaggeration. The climax is ultimately pretty boring, and then we get a flash forward to a kind of “what happens next” scenario for the characters that remain. There was just something missing. It was all so overwhelming when this could have been a much more exciting, beautiful story.

I do appreciate this type of dystopia that feels indicative of where our world is actually headed. (Not to discount zombie stories, which I also appreciate and while I don’t think the dead while actually reanimate, I wouldn’t totally believe there’s not chemical warfare out there that could create something like the rage virus in the 28 series.) These types of stories can certainly be way scarier, and maybe that’s why this one is so slow paced, because it’s trying to be more realistic, but it’s a novel and I need some excitement. There were so many characters I couldn’t get a grasp on and kept getting confused with each other.

I just needed so much more from this story that had loads of potential but fell flat in the follow-through.

I enjoyed this story of a journey of a group of family & friends, as they navigate their future well into climate change. It was kind of scary to think of what it might be like. The scenarios depicted offer a unique take on what survivors could face. What will we remember, what will we keep/save....? It's an interesting story......I can easily recommend this! I also think the cover art for the book is appropriate/good!
I received an e-ARC of this book from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley, for review purposes.

Dysoptian titles are definitely not my genre, but I always like to give them a shot. The more of them I read, the more I realize I either get freaked out or bored. All the Water in the World had a mix of both. There were times where I had a hard time following the story, there were times where they were describing the current world and I got completely freaked out because they are very plausible scenarios, and there were times I was just bored. I nearly put it down a few times, but wanted to see how it would end.

All in all, the story finished strong and I was glad I pushed through to at least have closure.

If you're not already into dystopian fiction, skip this one.

Thank you St. Martins Press and NetGalley for the eARC in exhcnage for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. Unfortunately this book wasn't for me. I liked the concept of the story and character but it was slow paced for me and I didn't feel like I connected with it.

Nonie has gift—she can sense weather patterns before they happen—a very useful skill when your entire city is underwater. Along with the rest of her family, she lives on the roof of the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH—pronounced "Amen") and works to document the artifacts of the museum for future generations who may never get to learn the history themselves. When the family flees a "hypercane" (think: a hurricane on steroids), they grab a canoe from one of the exhibits and travel up the coast to Massachusetts to find refuge and community. Along the way, they encounter other communities of people, some friendlier than others, trying to survive in a hostile world.

Sadly, I found this book incredibly boring. I'm usually all for low-plot, character-driven novels, but this one really takes the cake. The set up for the story was super interesting, but it didn't really feel like much of anything actually happened. Because it's narrated by a young girl, the thoughts and actions end up being simplified and lacking depth. It felt more like a eulogy of Earth than a story about a possible future. (There were also some things that never really made sense, like, how are they living on the roof of AMNH and canoeing through the city watching out for the tops of trees while still able to hunt deer in Central Park?) If you're looking for a similar, but better version of this story (climate fiction where the world is flooded from the POV of a young girl), try The Past is Red, which is a fantastic read and one I still think about to this day.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review!

I enjoyed this book. I felt like the comp titles were appropriate, and I had an expectation of what the story would be like based on other reviews before starting this. My biggest complaint is I wished there was more plot development. There were so many moments Nonie talks about, or experiences, that would have benefitted from more detail. There were so many characters mentioned or discussed that could have been fleshed out further, through flashbacks or even conversations in the present. Honestly, this book could have been 150 pages longer and it likely would have been beneficial.

I don't know what I was expecting when I picked up All the Water in the World, but I loved Station Eleven and I'm a sucker for climate change thrillers so I hoped it would be right up my alley ---- and it exceeded everything I'd hoped for. Beautiful, moving, post-apocalyptic journey that expertly weaves in jumping timelines and multiple character arcs across a sometimes heart wrenching, sometimes breathless, and sometimes joyful story of how life goes on even after the world has ended.

Enjoyed this read! Reminded me of the movie "Day After Tomorrow". Nonie is part of a group that has survived the flooding after the flood walls break, and New York City is not the same any more. Nonie has the ability to see coming storms, which helps them as they travel to find safe zones. What they encounter is a world that is very different, and some have worked together to survive. As those that travel find, if they stick together, they can survive. This is the first book I have read by Eiren Caffall, and I will be looking to read others. Thanks to Ms. Caffall, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Unfortunately did not connect emotionally with the main character at any point. I quite enjoyed the dystopian world and the set pieces themselves. Pace was slow for me as well. I don't mind slower pace when I enjoy living in the narrator's head but that was not the case here.

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I loved the concept of this book. I read a lot of dystopian novels and was intrigued by the premise of protecting and preserving knowledge of the artifacts at AMNH. For me personally, it fell a little flat for living up to what I’d hope it would be but I still enjoyed it well enough.

The premise is sound and the author has her heart in the right place, but this book was very disappointing. I don't know if it was just a marketing issue or what, but I was expecting mature literary fiction with a sci-fi slant and instead I got an overly didactic Young Adult novel -- and one in which I didn't find any of the characters particularly interesting or complex. My trouble is not with having a young POV character, not at all. My trouble is the writing.

This is not a BAD book, but one that will have trouble finding its niche. I'm not it.

A fresh, interesting novel that is extremely thought provoking. Set in NYC in the near future when a mass glacier melt causes apocalyptic flooding. Taking refuge on the rooftop of the American Museum of Natural History, the small settlement needs to choose what to save from the museum and how to survive. They carry a book that records the lost collections. Told from the perspective of Nonie Mayo who has the ability to sense storms coming and a curious relationship with water. Fighting for survival, lawlessness, looting, and hunger, the settlement is faced with brutal storms and deciding how to move forward.
Very imaginative and interesting perspective of humanity vs climate change.

Set in a near-future New York City drowned by climate disaster, the story centers on Nonie, a quietly brilliant teenage girl who lives with her family and a small group of survivors atop the American Museum of Natural History. It’s a surreal but poignant setting: a place meant to preserve the past, now serving as the last refuge of the present. As storms grow more violent and the fragile safety of the museum begins to crumble, the characters must venture out—along the river, through broken landscapes, into uncertainty. The journey becomes both literal and emotional: a reckoning with what has been lost, and what remains worth saving.