Thank you to NetGalley, author Eiren Caffall, and St. Martin's Press for providing me with a free ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

This book was unfortunately not for me. Although this book was right at 300 pages, it took me forever to get through because it felt double that length. I was initially intrigued by the comparison to Station Eleven, as that is one of my favorite near-future sci-fi/dystopia books I've read in recent years. I can kind of see where they got that comparison, but I don't think that All the Water in the World was nearly as fleshed out. My biggest complaint with this story is that there seemed to be a lot of details in the world-building glossed over to where readers never got a full picture. There were also a lot of repeated stories/scenarios/character memories throughout to where it felt like cyclical reading. I wanted to see the story progressing, but instead, it felt like as a reader we were stuck going round and round in one scene until suddenly it jumped to a new one and the cycle repeated. Then suddenly, the last 20-ish percent of the story quickly escalated in pace and sequence of events compared to the rest of the book. I think the idea was there, but the overall execution of both stories and characters was not as developed as my reading preferences would hope.

It is the 23rd of January and this may be my favorite book of the entire year already. There are many dystopian novels out there and a ton of the newer ones concern climate change. But I can't believe there are any where the prose is so magical and perfect, and the characters so clearly framed. A family has been living in the Museum of Natural History in New York since the ocean began flooding the City, but increasing storms force them to leave their sanctuary to try to find a family farm to the north. The book chronicles their journey while also giving glimpses of their past and how their community came to be only four survivors. Highly recommended.

Thank you so much to St. Martin’s Press for providing me with this ARC! In All The Water in the World, the readers follow along as Nonie and her family navigate a post climate change world where NYC is flooded with water. Caffall’s writing style shines through in the vivid atmosphere and the initial hook of climate fiction intrigued me. However I was not able to form a connection with any of the characters that seemed to fly past while reading. There did not to seem to be high stakes when the characters would face obstacles and a lot of the wandering dialogue did not keep my attention. There was a lot going on, but also nothing.

In All the Water in the World, we follow Nonie and her family as they navigate a dystopian, flooded NYC. The author’s writing style is exceptional — her talent shines through in the vivid atmosphere of doom and despair that permeates the novel.

However, while the setting and tone are strong, the story itself feels unremarkable compared to other dystopian novels. The biggest challenge for me was the lack of connection to the characters. Nonie’s distant personality, while intentional, made it difficult to emotionally engage with her or the people around her. Even in moments that should have been deeply moving, I found myself struggling to feel invested.

The pacing also posed some challenges. While I typically enjoy alternating timelines, in this case, it often felt like the narrative meandered rather than driving the plot forward. This made the book feel slow at times and less compelling overall.

As a whole, the book didn’t leave a lasting impression for me.

All the Water in the World by Eiren Caffall is a stand-alone speculative fiction about one family’s fight for survival in the midst of global catastrophe. Climate change has melted the polar ice caps, water has moved in, and the weather has turned upside down. Nonie and her family are one of the lucky few to have survived the initial storms and floods in New York City. Living in the abandoned American Museum of Natural History, Nonie and her family as well as a handful of other survivors eek out an existence on the rooftop. Together they catalog what has survived in the museum and record what history they can. Nonie is one of a few children who the adults have taken on educating in not just history but daily survival. When a monster storm blows in breaking the flood walls and taking the roof with it, Nonie and a handful of survivors must leave their home and find a new one in the world that’s left.

This was an interesting read, one that will stick with me for a while. The story was told entirely from Nonie’s perspective and excerpts from her Water Log book. Nonie is thirteen at the start of the story and barely remembers the world before the museum. Her life has been boiled down to learning and surviving. While the author doesn’t come right out and say it, Nonie is most likely autistic, definitely neurodivergent. She sees the world around her in a different way and mentions multiple times how her sister and father do not understand her lack of emotions/ability to show emotions. Because of this trait, her narration is interesting. While the reader will pick up on the tension of the other characters and danger they are in, Nonie doesn’t always which really makes you feel for her when the danger presents itself.

Following the destruction of AMNH (they call it Amen in the book for short), Nonie, her father, sister, and one other adult are the only survivors. Together, they take a canoe and sail out of the city. The goal is to find a farm that belongs to Nonie’s mother’s family. The trek there is the story as Nonie has never left AMNH that she can remember since coming to it as a child. The trauma they face, as well as the world as it is now, isn’t what she expected. I loved the characters they met along the way. Not all are good, but some are. It’s interesting to see how the world has adapted to survive.

Overall, I really enjoyed All the Water in the World. It gives you a lot to think about. Nonie is a fantastic choice for narration as well as an interesting one. It took a bit to adjust to how she tells the story because it isn’t how most would. She focuses on details that don’t seem important at the time. If you are a fan of dystopia or speculative fiction, I highly recommend it.

Cli-fi is a newer niche genre that I absolutely love, but this one didn’t quite draw me in and keep my attention as some others have. The premise made me desire a quick start, but instead it immediately felt slow and drawn out. The author shows a lot of talent with descriptive writing, and I’m hopeful a future book will be a winner for me.

I was very excited for this and maybe I was a bit too excited, it was fine but somehow not up to my expectations. I like and read a lot of dystopian/climate crisis stories and usually enjoy them but this one was a little flat. I never really connected to the story.

If you are going to comp a book to Station Eleven (which I liked but didn’t love), it needs to be stellar. This one is not. Simply having a shared reality of a post apocalyptic setting isn’t enough. I am bailing out of this book at the 12% mark because I am finding it a slog and I just don’t want to pick it up. The writing is very YA and so far it’s so repetitive I feel a little beaten over the head. I also struggle with a book that states New Zealand is underwater but somehow Manhattan is only partially submerged. There’s a serious altitude problem there. I’m bummed because I enjoy clifi and this doesn’t work for me at all.

First, thank to NetGalley and St. Martin's publishing Group for sending me an preview copy in exchange for my opinion. I fell in love with the characters in this book, particularly the young narrator, Nonie. She's had the misfortune to be born into a world destroyed by climate change and humanity's inability to take steps to avoid it. She and her family, blood related and found family, manage to survive and even find joy in what remains for them of the world, and in particular in their sanctuary, The American Museum of Natural History, nicknamed "AMEN" by the group. Of course, you can expect for things to get complicated and they do, but I'll leave you to read about it in this wonderfully written book. I believe this is her first book of fiction. I certainly hope it will not be her last! I'd even welcome a sequel to this one that continues their tale.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the ARC (book is out now). I struggled with this book, I couldn't get in to it. I almost felt like I missed earlier chapters and was just tossed in the deep end. I only made it through 25% of the book before I chose to move on. A friend summarized it well, a lot is going on but somehow nothing seems to be happening at the same time. The premise was fascinating, I would have preferred more opening chapters about living in/on the museum rather than disjointed flashbacks.

Beautifully written, beautifully told, and beautifully narrated. This novel follows Nonie and her older sister Bix through the world that comes after disastrous climate change. They live with their parents in a small community at the Museum of Natural History in a nearly submerged New York until a final storm makes it impossible to stay. They begin a journey north to the Berkshires and a mythic farm that belonged to their mother’s family. It was interesting to hear so many place names from the place I grew up, to imagine the new landscapes, to wonder if I would recognize familiar places changed by disaster. I really enjoyed the audiobook and thought the narrator captured Nonie’s feelings of being an outsider in her own life well. This is a meditative novel that dwells on memories of the World That Was and contemplates how to carry what has been salvaged into the future.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I'm torn on this book. There are parts I found so interesting and beautiful (the ending and describing Amen for example), however the writing lagged in parts and rushed through others. I found this made the book hard to keep up with. I found myself questioning if a certain aspect of the plot had been addressed and I might have missed it or it was never talked about.

I appreciated the unique (to me at least) view of a dystopian world. There were elements that I expected like people grouping together and learning how to live off the land. But aspects such as race and health were brought in in a way that made me pause and reflect.

Overall, a decent book with excellent moments, but for the confusion and pacing I would hesitate to recommend this book.

This is a magnificent novel reminiscent of Station Eleven. The characters are multidimensional and full of hope and resilience. The found family features predominantly and lends a diversity to the story that may otherwise not have been. The plot is propulsive and thrilling but maintains itself grounded by the memory “cutaways” which bring another layer to this fantastic story.

The beginning of All the Water in the World really pulled me in. The book starts with a huge event, and the narrator, Nonie, slowly lets the reader into the world where Manhattan and all other coastal cities and islands are underwater. Her family and a group of some others have been living on the roof of a museum in New York City, when a super hurricane comes and forces the remaining few who survived to evacuate in a small canoe with whatever possessions they managed to grab in the storm. Unfortunately, after a really strong start, the novel fizzled out for me. Despite the precarious nature of their lives, I couldn't connect to any of the characters and I struggled to care about their predicament. There was some world-building, but not enough to help me really GET IT, if that makes sense. I understood that climate change caused this disaster, but it was sort of glossed over in a way that made me feel like the reader should just understand that of course all the islands simply disappeared.

This book had a lot of promise, and I think a lot of folks will love it, but it was only okay for me.

I am a huge sucker for anything that appears to be even a little bit dystopian or post-apocalyptic, so as soon as I saw ‘All the Water in the World’ I knew I had to read it. The description for this mentions Station Eleven, which is easily one of my favorite books ever, so my expectations were very high. Unfortunately, it didn’t hit quite as well for me as that one did.

Starting off, I was instantly hooked. Nonie was an endearing character, and I was incredibly intrigued to know more about her, her family, and how they got to where they are now. The idea of living in a world such as the one they do is terrifying and made my heart beat just a little faster. Almost immediately upon our introduction to the small cast of characters, their lives are upended in a devastating superstorm that leads to even more loss and destruction.
 
While I wish the rest of the book had me hooked as the beginning did, around the 40/50% mark I found myself getting ever so slightly bored, and by the 60% mark I was setting it aside for the night after just a chapter or two. I still cared about the characters, and I was still rooting for them to find the safety they were seeking; however, I just really wanted them to get there so I could find my next read. Let me be so clear when I say I did not hate this book! I thought it was mostly beautifully written, I cared about Nonie and her family (found and otherwise), and there were parts that I was genuinely very invested in. There were just chunks of this one that didn’t quite do it for me.

Overall, I will say I believe you should give this one a chance if it sounds appealing to you. It gives you a lot to think about, and, if you like quieter post-apocalyptic/dystopian works, this might be just what you want.

All the Water in the World is such an interesting concept for the book! Eiren Caffall is such a great writer. If you need something to read, I'd recommend this book!

This story is based in a dystopian future where water has overtaken a large portion of the world, and there aren't many people left behind. Nonie and her family, along with their chosen-family have been hiding out at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City for years until a massive storm breaks the city's water fences and the water rises to the point that those left must flee in an ancient canoe. We follow Nonie through the present and past timelines as she recounts their journey and experiences along the way, in hopes to get to their family farm up north, all the while not knowing if it is still standing, or if it is submerged as well. This story is thrilling, heartbreaking, and makes you appreciate the comfort and everyday amenities we take for granted, and how quickly everything can change. This book really touched on the pivotal roles blood-family and chosen-family play when it comes to taking care of and raising children, as well as building supportive communities. It truly embodies the adage "it takes a village".

I was pulled into this book right away. Caffall's writing is easy to follow, and her near-future climate change dystopia is clearly written by someone with a background in science and feels all too plausible.

There's nothing earth-shatteringly novel about this story, the way our protagonist navigates the post-climate apocalyptic US, or the different responses to how survivors band together, but it's a compelling, enjoyable, and ultimately hopeful read nonetheless.

In a near future world where the catastrophes expected by climate change have happened, Nonie and her family have created a settlement in a fallen New York City on top of the American Museum of Natural History. They scavenge, hunt and survive, not without losses, until a major storm breaks down the flood walls and wipes out the entire city. They're forced to take a canoe from an exhibit and escape north, headed for her mother's family farm.

Along they way they encounter the most deadly things, other humans and disease. But they also find community, partners, and, eventually, a safe place.

While the story focuses on a decimated future unlike the life we know now, it's still hopeful.

In an America where New York is flooding and coastal cities are lost by the day, a group tries to survive first in a museum of natural history, then out on the water, and finally when they find land again. While the writing can be lovely and brings up important points about survival and ethics in a disastrous situation, it didn't move me, and felt a bit like a retread of all of the other dystopian novels that have been published in the last 20 or so years. Using the museum was a nice and interesting touch, but other aspects weren't unique enough to keep me fully engaged.