I requested All the Water in the World partly to stretch my reading repertoire, as I rarely read science fiction. It appealed to me as a dystopian, climate change novel, and overall, I would recommend it for readers who enjoy atmospheric, end of the world novels. As someone for whom the genre is not my typical fare, I struggled at first with the author's transition from 'the world as it is' to 'the world as it was' without warning, but once I became accustomed to the time flips, the story began to make sense, and I became engrossed in the adventures of the characters as they journeyed to the farm in the North.

The story is narrated by the youngest member of the party that leaves the AMNH for greener pastures during a catastrophic hurricane (not the first the group has endured). The encounters with other groups of survivors, both in past reminiscences and the present day, are filled with tension and were often frightening. The entire concept of the novel, climate change resulting in extreme floods that immerse most of civilization under water, and cause the formation of tribes of survivors that are wary of each other and hoard the scarce resources that exist, is in and of itself terrifying. Nonie's narration, however, was somewhat calming and kept the horror of their situation at bay. The author also kept most of the situations brief and not terribly descriptive, so I did not feel especially involved in the story emotionally.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the digital ARC of All the Water in the World by Eiren Caffall. The opinions in this review are my own.

This is not the first time I've started the new year with a book about a dystopian future thanks to climate change. But this debut novel managed to be filled with hope despite the many odds against the characters. Narrated by Nonie, a young teenage girl, the chapters are short, giving the feeling of how a child would feel in the circumstances Nonie is experiencing. This is a story of family - both that which we are born into and those which we make. It's also the story of what becomes important when everything can be lost - what do we save? The novel is full of heartbreak, adventure, terror, and survival. And hope. Hope that we can always improve the world and our circumstances.

"In the years after the glaciers melt, Nonie, her older sister and her parents and their researcher friends have stayed behind in an almost deserted New York City, creating a settlement on the roof of the American Museum of Natural History. The rule: Take from the exhibits only in dire need. They hunt and grow their food in Central Park as they work to save the collections of human history and science. When a superstorm breaches the city’s flood walls, Nonie and her family must escape north on the Hudson. They carry with them a book that holds their records of the lost collections. Racing on the swollen river towards what may be safety, they encounter communities that have adapted in very different and sometimes frightening ways to the new reality. But they are determined to find a way to make a new world that honors all they've saved."

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed herein are my own.

In this speculative literary apocalypse tale, a young girl must grapple with the meaning of hope and the purpose of humanity it in a world still reeling from its own destruction. The book opens with thirteen-year-old Nonie living in a small community on the roof of New York City's Museum of Natural History, rare survivors of the storms, floods, and pandemics that have ravaged the city. As curators and scientists, their mission is to preserve the museum's artifacts and knowledge against civilization's dissolution, and while their life is difficult, it is home to Nonie.

But when a massive storm destroys the building, Nonie and her family must flee the city. They're looking for a new home on higher ground, along the way meeting dangers - natural and, especially, human - as well as unexpected sweetness and support.

All the Water in the World is beautifully written, but it is not a light or easy read. Instead it is haunting; propulsive; terrifying. As the plot unfolds, the immediate horror of Nonie's reality recedes a bit, making room for the author's thoughts about social organization. These feel a bit disconnected from the more visceral side of the story, but Nonie's narration holds everything together. None of the story's events, even the end of the world, are the point. The point is Nonie and her unfolding understanding of the web of relationships that surround her and what it means, in her time and in all times, to be human.

My review is more 2.5 stars to begin with. I think my review about this book may lean more towards the time of which I've read this than the story itself. It's a truly interesting dystopian novel and I don't want to discourage the author. For myself, it's a difficult genre for me to get into, but I wanted to take a chance on this. There were moment where I had to go back and reread the scenes of what was present moment and the past moment. The action of storms being severe and almost like titans was gripping. I did struggle with connecting with the characters, sometimes getting lost in names of who is who. Although I leave this as my thoughts and review, I recommend those who are fans of dystopian genre to read this one and develop an opinion for themselves. Unfortunately for me, I just had a difficult time getting into it. Thank you for the gifted e-book copy.

A dystopian thriller that starts on the roof of the New York Museum of Natural History in waterlogged New York City. When a water storm breaches the City’s floodwalls, Nonie and her family and friends must escape NYC in an old native canoe via the Hudson River. Adventures and mishaps await this dystopian Band of travels.

This book is beautifully written, filled with thrilling, page turning adventure. It is not my usual fiction genre – nonetheless, I adored it – beautifully written with page turning excitement. Finished the book in one day. I highly recommend to all Readers - anyone that loves a good story.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an early read in exchange for a fair review. Five stars!

I wasn't sure I wanted to jump into a dystopian-type novel at this point, but I'm glad I picked up All the Water in the World. The premise is a bit terrifying - the world as we know it is now flooded, with Norah and her family ensconced in the American Museum of Natural History. However, a drastic storm hits, and Norah, her sister, her father, and their friend Keller must escape north to safety, all while avoiding the terrors of the world, including dangerous citizens, wild dogs, and more storms. This story grapples with loss in many ways - that of our friends and family, the creatures of the world, and society itself. It's easy to imagine the East Coast swallowed by drastic weather, which makes this novel even more terrifying. However, the writing style and flipping from past to present made this story fly by.

This book reads like water, a meandering brook that occasionally has rapids, that you're not exactly sure where it started and where it's going to end.

It is atmospheric; I could feel the cold damp seeping through the pages as I read. The characters are interesting, especially the autistic-coded MC, but not fully fleshed out. I never felt like i really got to know them.

This book felt like dipping into vignettes from a larger story instead of one cohesive unit that built from start to end. Enjoyable but meandering and slightly unfinished. 3.75 stars.

Nonie and her community are in the middle of at least a decade long apocalypse where the glaciers have melted, likely because global warming, sea levels have risen, and whole cities have been swallowed up by the water. New York City has been protected by a wall and floodgates but a terrible storm has hit them and the community needs to get out.

It took me about 5 or so chapters to actually start to understand the story and the characters and what exactly was happening but once I was in it, I was invested. The first half of the book felt a little slow to be but the second half picked up a good bit and a few of the plot points had me on the edge of my seat. The thrill of waiting to see what would happen next made me binge this book in a few days. I do feel like the very end, when they reached their destination, felt a little rushed and I would have liked a little more of that part fleshed out but it was overall an interesting read. Thanks so much to netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.

I absolutely loved this literary climate fiction told from the perspective of Nonie, a 13-year old girl who has lived on the roof of the American Museum of Natural History for eight years, with her father, and sister Bix and a group of museum employees who used their keys to get in when the first big storm came. Nonie and Bix's mother died in the interim from the Time Before they had to evacuate their apartment and took refuge in the museum, which they call Amen. Nonie is clearly on the autism spectrum, as her family all said that her "brain wasn't wired like other people's" and she admits to not understanding how other people feel sometimes.

Nonie understands water and seems to be able to feel barometric changes when a storm is headed their way. The narrative shifts back and forth from the current time, when they have to leave Amen, and The Time Before or The World As It Is. Nonie and Bix, along with their Father, and Keller, an entomologist who has been on the roof of Amen with them, escape in a canoe saved from the indigenous Eastern Woodlands exhibit. They travel through what remains of Manhattan, up the Hudson. They're headed for a farm upstate that had been in their Mother's family for decades.

Nonie keeps a Logbook of water, her most prized possession, kept in oilcloth in her go bag. They encounter both kind people and dangerous ones, some who you can't tell which they are until it's almost too late. But Nonie has heard of a ship called the Sally Ride where scientists study the changed climate and she is determined to get there.

Caffall's writing is beautiful and full of wisdom. Nonie and Bix and Keller are great characters. I highly recommend it. And it was completely weight-neutral-no description of anyone's body size at all.

A rather slow, thoughtful story of climate change, rising waters, and the end of civilization as we know it, told by a neurodivergent girl. Very well-written, highly recommend.

In a word: unputdownable. A harrowing, beautifully rendered coming-of-age story in a dystopian future ravaged by climate change. Similar themes as The Light Pirate (another excellent cli-fi book) but with a different writing style. This one will stay with me a long time.

Pub Date: 1/7/25
Review Published: 1/5/25
eARC received from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I was excited to receive this as an ACR, Thinking that a dystopian sci-fi would be a new genre for me to dip in to. Though I made it halfway through and the writing is just hard for me to enjoy. If you enjoy a slower paced novel about climate change give this a try, you may enjoy.
Thank you to Netgalley and St Martin's Press for the chance to read this early in exchange of an honest review.
2 star

Fantastic, engrossing novel of dystopian fiction. In a world where climate change has broken the world, a small group of people live together in what remains of a museum, until the world breaks further. It’s a page turner, fascinating, riveting.

3.5 rounded to 4 stars.

All the Water in the World is a debut novel that intertwines a world ravaged by climate change, a quest for survival, a story of sisterhood, and a meditation on loss and humanity.

Nonie, her family, and others have taken refuge at the American Natural History Museum (AMEN) in the Life As It Is. Climate change has wreaked havoc on the world, glaciers have melted, sea levels have risen, and relentless storms have submerged coastal cities. At AMEN, the community strives to survive while also documenting and preserving history as best they can. Nonie keeps a logbook, chronicling daily life at AMEN and their fragile way of survival. Crucially, she has a unique ability to “connect” with water where she can sense when storms are coming, which has helped the group avoid catastrophe. But when Nonie fails to foresee a devastating storm that destroys their sanctuary, the survivors are forced to flee in search of a new home. Their perilous journey is interwoven with flashbacks to the Life As It Was, before AMEN, when Nonie's mother was still alive.

All the Water in the World is a quiet, introspective, and slow-moving story. Its lyrical prose beautifully complements the novel’s themes of grief, loss, and the exploration of what it means to be human. Some elements reminded me of Parable of the Sower, the logbook, the protagonist's unique ability, and the search for a safe haven. However, the tone and pacing are closer to Station Eleven.

I especially appreciated the author’s lens on this climate, a ravaged world as seen through the eyes of a younger protagonist. Nonie survived a plague that wiped out many people her age and grew up sheltered inside AMEN. Suddenly, she’s thrust into a brutal reality she’s never had to confront. The depiction of her coming-of-age against this backdrop was both compelling and poignant. Given the rising focus on climate fiction, particularly stories set in drowned worlds, I anticipate more novels tackling similar themes in the near future. This one, in particular, stands out as a quiet yet hopeful exploration of such times to come.

I’d recommend this to readers who enjoy introspective, non-linear novels and don’t mind some elements remaining unexplored or left to interpretation.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing an advanced reader's copy of All the Water in the World.

Really superb survival climate fiction. Our group is upended from the museum shelter they’ve been at for many years. They take off in an exhibit boat down the Hudson in hopes of reaching a safe spot to land. The weather, other people, and their own weaknesses all work against them.

It sounds very bleak and it is, but it’s also beautifully written and hopeful. They gain and lose some people along the way but the additions make it all worth while to have made the trek.

Although I did love this, it just didn’t quite have a 5 star feel. But i strongly encourage lovers of this type of story to give this a chance!

I received an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

There is such beauty in this novel, even through everything these characters live through. I loved this story, how deeply Nonnie wanted a future to hope for even in the midst of chaos and uncertainty. How badly she wanted to protect the only family she had left. It was moving, heartbreaking & thrilling

I really wanted to love this book. The concept and the writing were great, but the book left a lot of room for improvement. The lack of context behind what led to living in the museum beyond what the main character can recall from her short years alive made this a challenging book to get through. By the end I felt like I had more questions than answers. It did give a lot of Parable of the Sower vibes which was great, it just felt like I was missing the views and stories from elders in the book to really pull it all together.

I loved Station Eleven & looked forward to reading this dystopian novel. For this Florida resident who has experienced hurricanes this narrative is easy to imagine. I loved the setting of the NY Museum of Natural History. It is easy to picture the characters there for those who have visited & explored the halls. The setting & characters are very intersting & would lend to a great movie. The writing was disjointed at times & I found it hard to follow some of the descriptions. It seemed like the author had all the detials laid out in her head but sometimes forgot to spell them all out for the reader. However, I was invested in the characters & enjoyed the overal journey the writer takes. It would have been a 4 star for me if I didn't get a little lost in the details sometimes.

I loved the concept and idea of this one but did not like the pacing or structure. The action started right away, which I usually like, but I felt thrown in without knowing the characters and group they were talking about. The flashbacks were helpful but I would have enjoyed a more linear structure for this one.

Thanks to St Martin's Press for gifted access via Netgalley. All opinions below are my own.

This is a very quiet contemplative novel. Told through the eyes of a young girl living some time after the collapse of the world where the weather is constantly lashing and floods are ever present. She and her family live in the Museum of Natural History and take the preservation of humanity seriously. While they struggle to survive they log the artifacts of life. Danger is ever present; from the water to the weather to infections brought by mosquitos and sewage contaminated water and of course other humans. We meet them as they experience a terrible storm which deals them more loss and forces them from their beloved safe haven. The rest of the story follows their pursuit of a promised family farm where they can be safe but takes us through all of the dangers they face along the way.

I get the comparisons to Station Eleven which is a core favorite novel of mine. I enjoyed this story but it was missing some of the magic Station Eleven had for me. I felt like it had more of a Last of Us vibe.