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aepstone's review
2.0
Great but so sad. Off to read Mockingbird next (trying to get through all the YA nominated for a National Book Award)
4saradouglas's review
2.0
I thought the premise of the book sounded pretty good, but I didn't enjoy it much in the end. I got annoyed with the CONSTANT foreshadowing and by the fact that I couldn't clearly picture any of the characters. In the end the story was nothing but two kids who kissed sometimes who then got stuck in a California wildfire. Some died, some lived. The end. I felt no emotional involvement and was pretty uninterested.
mellabella's review
3.0
Dark Water is very well written. The main character Pearl is, somewhat relateable. She's 15 years old. She has an (obsessive) crush. She is (not really)dealing with her father leaving her mother. Her best friend (Greenie) has gone from duckling to swan. They are growing apart because Greenie now has a boyfriend. I want to say that maybe they are growing apart because Pearl is somewhat immature and a little dumb. But, maybe that's just me. Anyway, Pearl and her mother are living with her uncle Hoyt (her mothers brother) on a piece of his property rent free. They live in California and one day in the car, they see a group of Mexican men looking for work. One of them catches Pearls eye. He's young, cute and seems to always be doing something for attention. His name is Amiel. Since Pearls uncle Hoyt is in need of a worker, she persuades him to hire Amiel. What follows is a ton of bad decisions. Amiel doesn't seem to like Pearl as much as she likes him. Now, that could solely be because he is scared to death of being deported. Becoming involved with his employers niece is a bad idea. In any event you get the feeling his every minute doesn't involve thinking about Pearl like hers does about him. Pearl used to be close to her cousin Robbie. He is her uncle Hoyt's son and their banter doesn't seem like cousins that have grown apart. But again, maybe it's me. During the midst of a mandatory evacuation for the residents because of fires Pearl decides to save Amiel. He is living illegally and dangerously in the woods. She does not think of anyone but Amiel. Not her mother, uncle, or cousin. She really doesn't even think of her own safety. All this to have her uncle die trying to save her and still not wind up with the boy. Amiel darts away (without even seeing if she's OK. AFTER she risked her life to save his) as she is getting loaded into an ambulance. He does leave her a message in the woods that he is going back to Mexico and to remember him. Dark Water was a quick read for me. The main characters voice in some ways is authentic. In other ways, not. I would recommend only if you don't get frustrated by a characters dumb decisions.
bookgirl4ever's review
4.0
Pearl has had major life changes happen in the past year. Her parents have divorced and she and her mom moved into the small guest house on her uncle's avocado farm. When Pearl and her mom spy Amiel, he is standing on the corner with other immigrants seeking work for the day. Amiel sets himself apart from the other job seekers by miming the work he can do. Pearl insists that her uncle hire Amiel and he does. Pearl takes an interest in the boy, developing a crush that Amiel doesn't seem to think can go anywhere because they are so different. But Pearl persists and their relationship develops. But then the fire comes, and Pearl is the only person who can help Amiel survive. Pearl's innocence, deceit to hide her relationship from everyone she knows, and her determination to help Amiel are so real.
JHS/HS
JHS/HS
nssutton's review
4.0
I read this as part of the Nerds Heart YA book challenge. It had been on my reading list for a little bit, but I wouldn't have expected to get as wrapped up as I did. McNeal's story alternates between velvet and sandpaper -- drawing you in with soft touches and descriptions of a lazy, languid world, and then rips you up with Pearl's headstrong decisions and awful hindsight. I stayed up way past my bedtime to finish this read and am so happy that my partner and I decided to move it along to the next round.
penandpencil's review
4.0
Beautifully written, very sad, not a love story despite what the blurb says!
alliloop88's review
5.0
Beautifully Written
Dark Water is a beautifully written story about friendship and how sometimes acts of nature can not only destroy lives but can cause one to do things that people misunderstand. I understood what was going on in this story, but to be honest, this is so amazingly written that for once I'm not sure how to describe it, but I would definitely recommend this book to ANYONE. It's very emotional and heartbreaking in parts. I definitely give this book ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Dark Water is a beautifully written story about friendship and how sometimes acts of nature can not only destroy lives but can cause one to do things that people misunderstand. I understood what was going on in this story, but to be honest, this is so amazingly written that for once I'm not sure how to describe it, but I would definitely recommend this book to ANYONE. It's very emotional and heartbreaking in parts. I definitely give this book ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
alisonb's review
A light read about a girl who is making the initial transition into young adulthood. There was little depth to the characters, but it was a good story. I mostly enjoyed Pearl's tidbits of wisdom, or revelation, scattered throughout in order to see how she was processing relationships and events.
piperhudsburn's review
4.0
Dark Water is a wonderful book for fans of We Were Liars, Even In Paradise, and all of Melina Marchetta's novels. It is a short,emotional story tale of personal growth and yes- tragedy.
Reading this book again after two years was an interesting experience. I found myself appreciating McNeal's vivd imagery and the complex, interesting characters: our main character lives on a farm in FallBrooke, where it is sunny most of the year with her enigmatic french aunt, her kind uncle, genius cousin, and divorced mother. McNeal also did a great job preserving the narrator's age in her writing.....Pearl DeWitt sounded like Pear DeWittt. I really appreciated that.
The plot, if it in fact does "fail"- it fails because McNeal only let's minimal amount of darkness in. Much like in Even In Paradise, most of Dark Water's characters get off easy in the end. It's not realistic. However, I am willing to let this slide because it is such a beautiful story of love, regret, and redemption.
"The breeze that carried you off is lifting me Gently;
and I shall follow those who loved me in my exile."- Victor Hugo
Reading this book again after two years was an interesting experience. I found myself appreciating McNeal's vivd imagery and the complex, interesting characters: our main character lives on a farm in FallBrooke, where it is sunny most of the year with her enigmatic french aunt, her kind uncle, genius cousin, and divorced mother. McNeal also did a great job preserving the narrator's age in her writing.....Pearl DeWitt sounded like Pear DeWittt. I really appreciated that.
“Tu' eres de dos mundos."
He was wrong, of course. You can only belong to one world at a time.”
The plot, if it in fact does "fail"- it fails because McNeal only let's minimal amount of darkness in. Much like in Even In Paradise, most of Dark Water's characters get off easy in the end. It's not realistic. However, I am willing to let this slide because it is such a beautiful story of love, regret, and redemption.