This novel was so transportive. You are so engulfed (pun intended) in this new world that it feels real. Raise your hand if you started preparing for the end of the world after reading this. The situation may be extreme, but Caffall fully captures the breadth of humanity and the ways in which we cope with loss, power, and dreams. Highly recommend!

This book made me CRY not once, but twice, and that is no easy feat. All The Water In The World is a heartbreaking story of loss, grief, and the will to survive.

Nonie and her family have made the American Museum of Natural History their home after the climate crisis floods NYC and leaves watery destruction behind. What an absolutely cool setting for a book, with several characters being scientists and experts in their fields. I loved the little tidbits about bugs from Keller and the conversations on preserving history for future survivors.

It’s no secret that I am a big fan of eco and climate fiction, and listening to this one on audio shortly after finishing Private Rites by Julia Armfield lent for some really neat comparisons and contrasts. Shoutout to Eunice Wong for the excellent narration which followed me through a couple of rainy commutes.

Definitely check this one out if you loved Station Eleven and enjoy climate fiction, dystopian societies, and survival stories!

**Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the eARC of this ~soggy~ title!**

What a book!!!
Thank you St Martin’s Press @stmartinspress , Netgalley @netgalley ,and Eiren Caffall @eirencaffall for this free ebook!
“All the Water in the World” by Eiren Caffall ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Genre: Dystopian Climate Change fiction. Location: New York City, NY, USA and north up the Hudson River. Time: Near future, in the years after the glaciers melt.

Climate change ruined New York City-it’s almost deserted. Nonie (13), sister Bix (16), their parents, and their researcher friends have lived on the American Museum of Natural History (“AMEN”) roof on the Upper West Side of Manhattan for 8 years, hunting and growing food in Central Park, protecting exhibits as they can. In November, a hypercane (super hurricane) destroys what’s left of the city, including AMEN, and they escape north on the Hudson River. They bring the museum logbook (records of the lost collections), and Nonie brings her water book for the future. They meet communities that adapt in different, sometimes frightening ways to the new reality. They’re determined to find a way to make a new world honoring what they've saved.

Author Caffall uses neurodivergent Nonie (“I was a blur of closed heart and quiet voice…”) as narrator in a tale of violent climate change, love, community, and what we leave behind. Her writing style makes climate change scarily real: (“…the pressure sinking so fast my teeth itched”), (“It was 3 days before the river tried to kill us.”), and uses evocative dystopian descriptions: (“The city made noise as it died.”), (“People didn’t make it who wanted too much.”) She alternates chapters of their journey north with chapters about life at AMEN in the World As It Is, and life before in the World As It Was. Caffall was inspired by Iraq and Leningrad curators protecting their collections from war. If you enjoyed Station Eleven or Parable of the Sower, you will love this book! There are storms, danger, a fight for survival, great characters, powerful themes, and it’s 5 water-filled stars from me🌵📚💁🏼‍♀️#SMPGEarlyReaders #SMPinfluencers #eirencaffallauthor #allthewaterintheworldbook

I will start by saying that I am a huge dystopian novel fan! It’s my favorite genre and this one did not disappoint. I loved the characters and the entire plot. It was both terrifying and intriguing. I thought the book was really well written and the author’s writing style was great for me.

this book really blew me away and made me think about the world in a different way. so well written!!! 5/5 stars!!!!

Eiren Caffall's "All The Water in the World" is a captivating sci-fi novel that defies expectations from the very start. The cover alone is a work of art, drawing readers in with its intriguing imagery and promising a unique literary experience.

Caffall's prose is nothing short of mesmerizing. The narrative's almost lyrical flow keeps pages turning, creating an immersive reading experience that belies the book's dystopian themes. This stylistic choice elevates the story, making it stand out.

The world-building in this novel is extraordinarily vivid. It presents a future where humanity grapples not with the typical post-apocalyptic tropes, but with the raw, uncontrollable force of nature itself. Storms and hurricanes become central characters, their fury matched only by the desperation of human nature when pushed to its limits.

At the heart of this environmental maelstrom is Nonie and her family. Their fight for survival is visceral and heart-wrenching, with Nonie's journey through loss and resilience forming the narrative's emotional core. Caffall masterfully weaves past and present, providing crucial context while maintaining nail-biting tension in pivotal moments.

"All The Water in the World" is more than a survival story; it reflects global concerns, diversity, and the concept of found family. The author's ability to blend these themes with pulse-pounding action and deeply human moments is commendable.

This novel is a prime candidate for cinematic adaptation, with its vivid imagery and gripping narrative practically leaping off the page. Caffall has created a world that is at once familiar and terrifyingly alien, making "All The Water in the World" a must-read for fans of thoughtful, beautifully crafted science fiction.

Thank you, St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley, for my free book for review.

Nonie can feel the storms coming—and in their dystopian world, that’s an invaluable skill. Yet even her unique gift hasn’t protected her from heartbreak and loss. Set in a waterlogged New York City, where survival is rare, we follow Nonie, her older sister Bix, and their group as they are forced from their rooftop sanctuary in search of higher ground. Along the way, they encounter both natural and human-made dangers that test their strength and resilience.

I was immediately drawn to this book for its dystopian theme. Stories of survival in radically altered worlds have always fascinated me, and this book absolutely delivers. The premise of a flooded world felt vivid and believable—I could easily imagine this scenario unfolding. I especially appreciated Nonie’s strength and the bond she shares with her group, which added a heartfelt layer to the story.

This isn’t a quick, breezy read. The narrative moves back and forth between the “world that was” and the “world that is,” which, while slowing the pacing at times, ultimately deepens the characters and their struggles. It explores profound themes: how people behave under immense pressure, how nature can dismantle humanity’s grandest plans, and how, even in ruin, we fight to preserve what makes us human—love, art, and history. These reflections on survival, tenacity, and connection resonated deeply with me.

I recommend giving this book a try. Though it took me time to fully digest, it has left a lasting impression. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

To me this was a mash up of a Sci-fi series I watched during Covid and the movie Water World. I tried many times to get through this book but kept falling asleep.

It is a coming-of-age story set in post-apocalyptic New York. Unfortunately, it seemed repetitive throughout the story.

I did not connect with the book’s characters or the environmental destruction caused by man’s bad behavior over many generations.

Netgalley graciously allowed me to read this book and I’m sorry but I didn’t really like it.

Much thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for providing me this eARC in exchange for an honest review. I always gauge my enjoyment of a novel by how quickly it grabs my attention and how quickly I finish it. All the Waters of the World is all that and more. I don't want to give away the plot but it is apocalyptic but with a sweet hopeful sweet nature that is not usually found in this subgenre. I feel like there are more stories to tell in this world the author has built. Highly highly recommended!

Nonie's parents were researchers with the American Museum of Natural History (Amen), and as the ocean rose and New York City gradually went under, they stayed behind to preserve the holdings as long as possible, and record them in logbooks for future generations. When the flood suppression efforts finally break, bringing the sea through the streets, the last survivors launch a canoe from the collection and journey toward a family farm in northern New York. The story flashes back an forth from the times before the disaster to the journey forward, filling in the heartbreak and horror and love that preceded the journey and learning more about the characters as we follow them into the unknown. The love for each other, and respect and love for their work radiates off the page, and how differently each age sees events based on how much of the Before they remember. It is both sad and hopeful, and deeply emotional. There is adventure and excitement and tragedy in all the complexity of constant struggle and conflict. The characters are all wonderful and will follow you away from the pages. The emotions are real and deeply moving. And the setting so logical and organic, the plotting seems to flow without effort. It is often compared to Station Eleven, but I found it resonated with me more like The Light Pirate, the same sense of deep sadness mixed with hope. I absolutely loved it and can not recommend it enough.

All the Water in the World was a scary look at a future in which global warming finally takes its anger out on the world. It had the potential to be a wonderful and expansive journey. It meandered instead of ran. There was no sense of anxiety or danger in the situations the characters continued to find themselves in. It read more like a textbook than a novel in several places. I did not find the characters to be interesting or even realistic. Often they were almost robotic. I enjoyed how the author described the world of the future but didn't connect with the book.

Despite the slower plot, I still read this in a single day. It’s very well written and deals with its topics very smoothly. There’s some jumping in time that also is handled well and is never confusing. We see a world where climate change caused massive flooding, and much of New York is now underwater. Having grown up in the museum, Nonie and her family are forced to eventually flee and work to find a new home. If you want something dealing with an apocalyptic event that isn’t very rushed or action focused, this is a very good choice.

Note: ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

All the Water in the World's is marketed as a gripping narrative of survival and adaptation in a flooded New York City. We follow our main character Nonie and her family as they are trying to navigate a flooding world.

This is a story that should be right up my ally, but the pacing of this story really did not work for me. I read to almost 40% and the info dumping is just continuing in a way that pulls me out of the story. There are also time jumps in the form of recollections of thing that have happened in the past and while some can do this well I personally did not enjoy it in this book. I feel like the concept for this book is so interesting but for me the execution just didn't work.

I appreciate NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me the chance to read this as an ARC.

Climate change, coming of age, dystopian, racism, and probably a bunch of other things I've forgotten to highlight. All in this book! All nicely fit together in this book to create a whole universe that could possibly be our future. I loved the character development and warn that the author has no loyalty to his characters; all are subject to disease and death! I loved how the characters determined what was important to document for the future. The one thing I did question was how a bunch of separate groups without communication named things the same, like The World As It Was/Is, The Lost People, etc. Perhaps there was greater communication earlier in the crisis and they were established before the timeline of the book? This is a minor question in comparison with the huge issues at the play during the course of the book. I will be thinking about this one for awhile.

I would like to thank the publisher and author for providing an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this novel via NetGalley. I was drawn to the premise of this novel, as I enjoy post-apocalyptic themes, but I could not get into it. I tried several times to pick it up and continue reading, but I couldn’t connect with the story or the characters. The writing style is not my cup of tea, and I had to reread a few passages to understand what was happening. I know that others will enjoy this—it just wasn’t for me. I don’t think I am the intended audience for this book.

I was really excited to dive into this book after reading the synopsis and early reviews. It’s a post-apocalyptic science fiction novel about a group of survivors living on the roof of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, after the world is devastated by flooding caused by melting glaciers. When a superstorm forces them to leave their home, they journey north along the Hudson, encountering other communities along the way. Sounds intriguing, right? I thought so too. And while the author is clearly a talented storyteller because I thought her writing was beautiful, I couldn’t get past all of the missed opportunities throughout the book.⁠
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The beginning starts off quite slow. While I understand the value of building a world, much of the early narrative focuses on “the world as it was before” - something that, as someone currently living in that world, didn’t feel necessary. I would have preferred more focus on the unfolding climate disaster and the effects of the flooding and extreme weather that left the world in chaos, forcing groups like Nonie’s to adopt a survivalist mentality.⁠
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The pace does pick up around the 30% mark when the group is forced to leave their home, and I appreciated the small moments of action and the atmosphere of despair that Caffell built. However, it wasn’t enough to compensate for the overall lack of plot that continued. Additionally, as I read I also found myself wishing the author had delved deeper into how communities form and how roles are established in such a survival-driven setting. There was a lot of potential here to dive deeper into the psychology behind group dynamics and the emergence of pack mentality, but this was largely unexplored.⁠
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If you enjoy slow-burn stories where not much happens plot-wise, this might work for you. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t my cup of tea.

Nonie, her older sister and her parents and their researcher friends have stayed behind in an almost deserted New York City, in the years after the glaciers melt, and New York City has become almost unrecognizable. They have created a settlement on the roof of the American Museum of Natural History., and forage & hunt in Central Park. When a hypercane breaches the flood walls of the city, they are forced to flee 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.

This post-apocalyptic tale sounded like it would be riveting and full of adventure, but instead, it was a slow burn for the entire book. I think I set my expectations too high. It wasn't necessarily a bad book, it just didn't have any of the excitement and adventure I was expecting. Overall, this is a solid 3 out of 5.

Loved it!

The language felt a touch stilted in the very beginning, but I sort of think that was the point - the simplicity matches the way young Nonie would write down her observations.

Caffall did a wonderful job building this partially submerged, always wanting for another big storm, World As It Is. The characters are distinguishable and interesting, the conflicts are as old as The World That Was, and the geography of the disaster, even though it stays within New England, mostly in New York and Massachusetts, felt all-encompassing.

I loved the special language and the games that the kids and adults living in the post-apocalyptic American Museum of Natural History develop. Love and loss are shown beautifully, and the ability to trust strangers and find a new family was very life-affirming. This was crucial because it is a scary book - The World As It Was is very much our world today, plus maybe 20-30 years and a few big hurricanes.

A great read!

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, for providing an advanced reader's copy in exchange for my honest review. The book is out on January 7.

Told from the viewpoint of a young girl....the reader learns of the World As It Is. Rising waters destroying coastal cities, breakdown of govenment and a struggle for survival. A heartbreaking story of the strength of the human spirit.

I really wanted to love and the summary sounded so good but I DNF at 35%. I couldn’t resonate with the characters and formed no attachment. The story was dragging and felt wordy / repetitive. And at 35% in, I felt nothing actually moved the story forward.