WOW! I could literally feel the desperation, sadness and isolation seeping from the pages of the book! Rachelle Atalla does an amazing job of creating such an atmospheric feeling even when there are periods of nothing much happening with the characters. The daily drudgery of life with very minimal water felt so real.
I really liked how it was Aida, the teenager, that was the main character rather than an adult as it showed how drastically her life changed from being relatively care free to suddenly having some major worries. The added aspect of her having insulin dependant diabetes and having to try to find and store supplies of the insulin was really interesting and I've often wondered what life would be like for people with illnesses / conditions like that if a disaster (or the apocalypse) happened.
I highly recommend this book and will definitely be reading whatever is next from this author.

An amazing read that will definitely stay with you. The best type of dystopian fiction that has just enough truth to be completely believable and easy to read. Really recommend

Anyone who spent last summer in the UK and experienced that record-breaking heatwave will no doubt be unsettled by this disturbingly believable work of speculative fiction, set in Scotland after a dry winter: the rains have stopped, and the water has dried up. Daily life continues, grimly recognisable, subtly reminiscent of the restrictions set in place during the pandemic; you get the sense of the wider issues taking place in the background behind the regular day-to-day challenges of being a young person in the world. The book opens as twenty-one year old Aida arrives at her job at a service station that lies just across the border with England: while she flirts with her shift partner Aaron, the news on the TV above them is covering the swift building of desalination plants to deal with the country-wide shortage of water, and then “wheeling out” an opposing opinion, a mortgage-free sweaty man in his mid-sixties who “took videos of water running from [his] own taps to prove there weren’t any shortages.” The two discuss the rumours that “they’re” about to close the border between England and Scotland, which means they’d probably lose their jobs: then customers arrive, and Aida rings up their order. “I scanned the crisps through first: £1.19. But it took me a moment to remove the security tag from the bottle of water. Eventually, after I’d fought with the tag, the item rang through at £14.99.” The unsettling plausibility continues from there: social media suggests life “south of the border” is “proper Third World shit”, in the service station toilets the taps have been disconnected to stop people filling their bottles with water, out in the fields nothing is growing: and “a country with a population of sixty-odd million had essentially run dry.” After her shift, Aida returns to her parents’ farm, where her mum is wrestling with the challenges of keeping livestock alive in lambing season: their well has not yet run dry, but they know it’s a possibility – and then some strangers arrive on the farm. Brilliantly descriptive, alarmingly plausible: this is not a fun summer read, but will make you grateful there’s still water coming from your tap.

I’m really going to have to start rationing my exposure to dystopian fiction. Although to be fair, after reading Thirsty Animals I did try to cut down the time spent in the shower (although I’m pretty sure that’s cancelled out by the marathon-length showers taken by the 19 year old). This is one of those books that is so plausible that you will be thinking about your own impact on the environment. It’s not ‘preachy’ though. It’s just the rather disturbing story of Aida’s life after she is forced to return to her home on a livestock farm (cows and sheep) when water starts to become really scarce - even in Scotland.

Until the point at which Aida goes home, Scotland is one of the last places with running water. But that is about to change.

This isn’t quite Mad Max, although when the water is switched off and people aren’t allowed to move about within Scotland, it does become pretty lawless - as Aida and her family soon find out.

Thirsty Animals is highly likely to be amongst my favourite books this year. Nothing seemed far-fetched, and the relationships were entirely believable. These were people in extremis, and no matter their behaviour, who knows how we would behave in a similar situation in order to keep ourselves and our families alive?
This is certainly a book that has kept me thinking about it for a while after having finished it.
I’m so intrigued where Rachelle Atalla will go next - I’ll certainly be reading it!

I would highly recommend to family and friends. I love author’s that can describe a scene and you are immediately there, you close your eyes and you picture the scene. This author does that for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I find Atalla's dystopias interesting because they tend to feature female protagonists but aren't centred around issues of feminism, which are the focus of so many dystopian novels. This book was pretty compelling in its depiction of what might happen in a world where water becomes scarce. I would have liked a bit more of the global perspective, but appreciated that the focus of the novel was on Aida and her family. The book explores the climate crisis from a different angle and is all the more interesting for it.

I loved the premise of this novel when I first heard about it and it didn't disappoint. Eerie, unsettling and, most significantly, frighteningly plausible.

Thirsty Animals is out now and I can't recommend it enough!

This was unlike any book I’d read before and had an interesting concept. Although written very well it does get quite dark and the animal slaughter can be upsetting

Thank you to Netgalley and Hodderscape for this advance copy.

I loved this novel. I've been meaning to read Atalla since hearing about the Pharmacist, but Thirsty Animals is the first book of hers that I have read. It won't be the last!

Thirsty Animals is set in Scotland, when the world is experiencing severe drought. Many people are flocking to the Loch's of Scotland for more water, and border forces are getting more extreme. Our main character, Aida, lives in a rural farm with her mum, and the isolated setting only adds to the tension throughout this story. They live a peaceful life, farming and gathering supplies - until one day the water switches off...

This story built suspense like no other, and the plot felt so vivid I really thought I would run out of water. Imagine my relief having the free flowing tap for tea!!! Truly wonderful book, I can't recommend enough.

This book was absolutely amazing, it was so beautifully written with such important messages embedded into the text. This is the perfect spring read!

This is a difficult book for me to review - I feel like I should give it 4 stars, but 3 stars represent better my overall feeling - for the moment.
It is well written and every detail put in there makes sense and is used well. The plot, while slow, is tight and functions well, it gradually becomes darker and even frankly depressing - I'm not going to mention the ending too much as I don't want to give spoilers, but it allowed me to breathe again ;)
It was very hard to read, there were some incredibly difficult scenes so it was challenging, especially from an ethical perspective, but that was the point - and I feel like the author did a good job not shying away from showing everything the way she did even though it felt nearly physically painful to read.
This book can be a warning about what we could expect in terms of climate change consequences if we don't make changes now, but this lack of hope in nearly the entire story makes it hard to read until the end and get all we can get from the book. In any case, it's an exploration of plausible "what ifs" and of human nature - how human society can deteriorate, what people do when they're desperate, that I found incredibly interesting and powerful, so I guess in terms of pure craft I should give 4 stars, but it was so bleak and mostly devoid of joy (most of what Aida does that could be joyful isn't done joyfully), that I struggled to finish the book (also, the lack of dialogue markers didn't help, although to be fair I found the dialogues reasonably clear most of the time) as I'm already climate anxious anyway. I hard a hard time relating to people farming cattle, but I found out that my empathy was there for every being involved in the story and it did make it even harder to read. I did read everything because I was curious as to whether the situation would improve, who Evelyn, Peter and Rebecca really were/wanted, and if Aida would find more joy and purpose.
It's the sort of book where a star system doesn't seem enough to convey my thoughts, and my rating might change after more time has passed.

I want to thank NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for giving my a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I got Thirsty Animals by Rachelle Atalla from NetGalley for free for a fair and honest Review.



Thirsty Animals by Rachelle Atalla is the story of the affects of no rain fallingof a farm for a large period of time and how it alters the way of life, on a farm in Scotland near the border with England.


The Story is told through the point of virew of Aida a young womon who has returned to the farm after her Universty is not having lessons or even marking work.

As a reader I felt that if you go on the age of the main character Aida you would probably say this is a New adult novel however on reading it feels more like an adult novel.

This was because some of the isues that would make it a new adult seemed to be those that the main character was dealing with after affects of.

What I liked about Thirst Animals was the way that a couple of characters had medical issues which really added to the jeperdy of the situation, one of them being Aida herself who has been a diabetic since the age of 5.

This means there are scenes were she not only injects herself bnt also is woried about the lack of insulin around.

Another thing that made the story work was having the story set on a farm wich allowed the writer to show how living this life style can both be an advantage or disadbantage, in a deystopian world.

To me Rachelle Atalla really did make this novel an interesting study in how people react in situations that takes them out of the comfort zones and how people become more of the typre of person they are, especially when dealing with strangers.

With the writer Rachelle Atalla able to write a story live up to its premis making Thirsty Animals an enjoyable realistic destopyian story.

Thirsty Animals is set in Scotland at a time of drought. Five long years without rainfall. Borders closing. Power shutting down. Hope slipping away.

On her great-uncle Bobbys' farm, our narrator Aida, 21, is resigned to her life prospects dwindling. Faced with having to cull their livestock and with the terminal diagnosis of Bobby, they are rapidly facing death in the face.

When three strangers turn up at the farm, they are initially welcome helping hands. But they are not who they first appear to be, and things take an even darker, more desperate turn.

A deeply depressing story with graphic scenes of death and animal slaughter, this is not a read for the sensitive disposition. And I don't mind a dark plot, but even for me, it felt unrelentingly bleak. But in the last few pages I do have to say, there was a little lightness and hope that was a welcome relief.

Undoubtedly written very well, compelling and memorable, I do however find myself craving lighter relief these days, as reality itself feels very heavy.

This book had me hook line & sinker after the first chapter. What a story & one that could easily happen. What would happen if the taps turned off??
Aida has returned home to the farm on the Scottish borders from university as life has become so difficult due to the water shortage. Life is so different & frightening for them all & this is made worse when strangers turn up looking for help! The decision will change their lives forever!
Such a thought-provoking book. I found myself telling everyone about it & it made interesting conversations. This story will stay with you for a long time.

Rachel Atalla’s second novel, after the post apocalyptic The Pharmacist, is Thirsty Animals climate fiction that could probably best be described as mid-apocalyptic. And given that is is set in Scotland it should it come as no surprise that it is dour and dark.
While no date is given, Thirsty Animals is essentially a day after tomorrow story. Due to changes in the atmosphere brought on by climate change the former United Kingdom is in a deep drought. Refugees from England and massing at the border with Scotland as there are rumours of plenty of water in Loch Ness. But things are not much better in Scotland. Aida has returned from university in Edinburgh to her family farm near the border where she and her mother Miriam, uncle Bobby and his partner Sam struggle to stay viable. Aida’s world is thrown out of kilter with the arrival of a woman called Evelyn with her son and her pregnant daughter. Miriam was a midwife and the three throw themselves on and gain the mercy of Aida and her family. But while they are helpful on the farm, particularly as Bobby fights cancer, they hide some deeper secrets.
Thirsty Animals plays on that most common of apocalyptic tropes that people will essentially do anything to survive when things start to look bad. Aida does often try to do the right thing but finds that approach backfiring on her as if the world is constantly trying to teach her that good guys finish last. And Aida is not even that particularly good to start off with. And as the situation gets worse, it brings out the true nature of the farm’s guests.
The overall tone of Thirsty Animals starts dark and never really shifts, except to get darker. Aida has essentially dropped out of university, is working at the local petrol station so sees refugees as they come through, until the border is closed and supplies start to run out. It makes readers who may not have thought about these issues when seeing them on television (the time when Cape Town almost ran out of water in 2018 gets mentioned) consider what it might be like if those impacts start happening to them. But beyond that message, the narrative does little but be dark, throwing in some here are other ways humans can be awful plot points just to drive it all home. And it is nothing a little late course correcting can address.
Thirsty Animals is climate fiction for those looking to be depressed about the future. That is not to say the situation may not get as bad as it is described here. And that there are some unscrupulous actors in the world who will seek to take advantage of the chaos. But this novel does little more than make readers consider how depressing it would be to live in a world in decline, particularly if you did not have much to hold on to in the first place.

I can describe this book perfectly in just a few words - brilliant, amazing, emotional, disturbing. The book is very well written with some very strong characters. The story centres around an environmental catastrophe resulting in a struggle to obtain natural resources. The story is extremely believable and is disturbing in how perfectly it demonstrates just how little time it takes for people to descend into selfish, violent and base behaviour in order to get one they want.

I couldn't put this book down and found myself waking up in a morning wondering if the event had really happened which illustrates the effect the book had on me.

This book is absolutely brilliant. Terrifying, but brilliant all the same.
I loved The Pharmacist and this tops it completely, no difficult second novel here.

Set in Scotland in what seems like current times or not too far into the future, the world is suffering from severe drought. At the start of the novel we are aware that beyond Scotland, the situation is already desperate and we see the deterioration as Scotland starts to catch up with the rest of the world.

The majority of the book centres around a family run farm, where they are somewhat sheltered from parts of what is happening. Told in the first person by Aida, the daughter home from university, we see how they try to survive and remain good people, when survival may mean they simply can’t be.

This novel really packs a punch. So many big issues are covered, climate change, racism, what it is to be human and so on. Yet the author does this skilfully by showing the reader through the actions and observations of the characters.

It’s not an easy read, there are some harrowing parts, but it is absolutely gripping. I could not put it down and have thought about it non stop. I’ve never been so glad of a rainy day! I highly recommend this one and will auto buy this author from now on. Thank you for the chance to read it in advance.

Between this and Rachelle's previous book, her style is becoming very clear; Rachelle does not use any kind of speech marks in her writing. This makes it very difficult to follow; there's a lot of pausing, rereading, double checking and mapping out sentences, which really throws a reader out of the story.

It's a shame, because the plot is great, well researched, plausible, with information given at just the right rate to keep us from either getting bored or overwhelmed. It's easy to imagine that the world is heading the way of this plot, and it all makes perfect sense - and it's very tense reading! I didn't want to put it down as I was reading.

I really enjoy the stories, but the writing style doesn't suit me at all. I'll probably still try her next one, because I really do think she's good, but I may not stick with it if it's the same as this. That's just my opinion though, and I will definitely be recommending this to others to read.

Unsettling and bordering on terrifying and one of the most thought-provoking novels I’ve read in a long while. Set in a potential and not-at-all-distant future, where our overconsumption of everything leads to the kind of water shortages of nightmares, yet the truth and heart of the novel is how humans react as society breaks down around them. A stunning, uncomfortable, insightful look to the future that snared me from the first page. Highly recommended.

A thought-provoking read that sees the world slowly run out of water – and a great example of a ‘what if’ novel.

Thirsty Animals is set in Scotland, about now-ish. As the book begins, there is already trouble. The price of water is rising, and people are desperately travelling north in search of safer (and wetter) havens. But there is no rain.

Our main character, Aida, is forced to return home to the rural farm where her mum lives. It’s not what she wanted from life, but it’s safe enough, for now. The taps are still working, but water is switched off overnight. No one knows what’s coming next.

Then strangers turn up at the farm, in dire need of help…

It’s a tense read, but the tension builds up slowly at first as the reader gets sucked into the world that Atalla has created. There are foundations to be built, so that we understand Aida and all the other inhabitants of the farm. So that we understand why they let strangers stay, why they don’t ask some of the questions that maybe need asking. It takes time, and some might find it frustrating, but I found it intriguing – getting clear sight of everything as the pot begins to boil over, as the water situation gets worse, day by day by slow day. At around the 50% mark, the plot begins to speed up, the tension rises and the situation escalates.

I found myself gripped by a sinking feeling of doom. Perhaps it didn’t help that I read it as UK supermarkets were running out of common fruit and vegetables – showing so clearly how quickly the world as we know it (or casually take for granted) can come to a stop.

However, for much of the read, I didn’t know how I was going to rate the book. I love a good ‘what if’ but I also need glimpses of hope in my fiction. Despair alone doesn’t cut it for me.

No spoilers, but I was able to find my moments of hope in the end. This one will stay with me for a while. It won’t be everyone’s cup of tea (e.g. the dialogue has no punctuation, as with Atalla’s The Pharmacist) but I loved this read.