Ultimate Blog Tour: After The Green Withered by Kristin Ward

Synopsis

They tell me the country looked different back then.
They talk of open borders and flowing rivers.
They say the world was green.
But drought swept across the globe and the United States of the past disappeared under a burning sky.
Enora Byrnes lives in the aftermath, a barren world where water has become the global currency. In a life dominated by duty to family and community, Enora is offered a role within an entity that controls everything from water credits to borders. But it becomes clear that not all is as it seems. From the wasted confines of her small town to the bowels of a hidden city, Enora will uncover buried secrets that hide an unthinkable reality.
As truth reveals the brutal face of what she has become, she must ask herself: how far will she go to retain her humanity?

My Thoughts

4 out of 5 stars

Author, Kristin Ward did a remarkable thing with the story. She took the environmental disaster story that is very common right now due to all the concerns about climate change and made it fresh. No small feat. Ward gives us a glimpse into a very possible environmentally destroyed world that is a bit harrowing when you think it could be right around the corner.

The story is about a character named Enora. She is an 18-year-old high school student when we first start this novel. Much of her education is created and run by an organization called DMC, a company that controls water and water allocation and by extension the fate of the citizens of the US. The DMC controls the future of every citizen including their profession and how they contribute to the community. Any deviation from class or societal rules is met with harsh and quick punishment. There is a lot of information to be taken in, in short order. How society works, why society has crumbled and risen the way it has. How Enora and her family fit into the niche of society the way they do. Once you get past all the back story, the pace slows down a bit and Ward works on showing you the kind of person Enora is. Scared and confused, sure. But Enora has a strong core of strength that gets more apparent as the story moves towards its denouement. My only complaint about it is the way the story ended. The story abruptly stopped when it felt like it just was getting started. I wanted more to be a part of this book, at least something that could be considered a turning point of climax. That being said, it is a very well written story with a lot of promise. I look forward to jumping into book two and seeing how Enora’s journey pans out.

After the Green Withered purchase links:

About the Writer – Kristin Ward

Kristin Ward has loved writing since middle school but took thirty years to do something serious about it. The result is her Best Indie Book Award-winning novel, After the Green Withered, followed by the sequel, Burden of Truth. She lives in a small town in Connecticut with her husband, three sons, and many furry and feathered friends. A SciFi geek to the core, she is fueled by dark chocolate and coffee and can be heard quoting eighties movies on a regular basis.