This book was provided for review from The Write Reads and the author herself. Thank you!

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? (via Goodreads)

Like many, I have read my fair share of post-apocalyptic books. And while many have kept me on the edge of my seat, After the Green Withered is the first to truly frighten me. Not because of the horror that is the world in this book, but because of how easily our world could follow down a similar path.

In reading After the Green Withered I was reminded of the poem The Hollow Men by T.S. Eliot. Like the men described in the poem, the majority of the populace live in a kind of Hell. There is no where for them to go and they are far too afraid to try anything that could possibly help them for fear of retribution. We are shown this when one of Enora’s friends tries to build her own small hidden garden. Water is rigidly rationed and growing one’s own food is strictly forbidden. When the tiny garden is discovered, Enora is horrified to see her friend brutally arrested.

After the Green Withered is unique in that there are not many characters to drive the plot. Aside from the main character Enora, there are only a real handful of others that she interacts with and push the story along. Background characters make recurrent appearances, but it is only a few that make up the core of the story.

I found After the Green Withered to be a massively enjoyable read. It was a bit slow in the beginning as the world that Enora lives in is introduced to us, but once she leaves home the story continues at a breakneck speed. There are numerous twists and turns as Enora tries her best to not stand out while keeping true to herself and as she tries to figure out who she can and cannot trust.

My only disappointment comes in how Enora tends to agonize over every decision. While I cannot completely relate to the world she comes from, I do know that there are times when one only seems to be given a choice.

After the Green Withered is a fast paced book that unfortunately ends on a very awkward note. Thankfully, there is a sequel already out so the reader can immediately jump from one to the other should they wish.

Readers who like dystopian type novels with a well thought out back story and decently rounded characters should give this book a try. If nothing else, it will inspire you to possibly care about the environment around us a bit more.