Thirst

Liz Dennett is a public service librarian in the Science and Technology
Library at the University of Alberta.

Mara has lived her whole life in the harsh climate, unforgiving rules,
and palpable fear of Regnboga, a walled and gated city built around a
precious well in a desert landscape. Every time the water level drops,
the Watchers gather everyone to inform on others’ excess energy
expenditure or food and water consumption, and then “purify” the
accused with whippings. On one of these awful nights, Mara and her aunt
flee under the feared darkness. They head toward the sea, which seems
only a myth to Mara, but her aunt once lived beneath its waves in an
altered form as Morwenna Marina, daughter of the sea. On the journey,
Mara sees the many beauties and wonders of the world beyond Regnboga and
slowly unlearns all of the fears that she had been taught. Once at the
sea, Morwenna leaves Mara to rejoin her people, but she compels Mara to
travel back to Regnboga to spread her new knowledge in order to free
those who will listen from their fears. So Mara makes the long journey
back to face her final fear, that of Regnboga and its people.

This is a compelling and beautiful story. The first-person narrative
flows lyrically without a false note. While there are mythical moments
in the books, the settings and characters are richly described and
realistic. And although the book also functions as a commentary on
oppressive religious and political regimes, it is never preachy or
overly moralistic. Highly recommended.