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All the Water in the World by Eiren Caffall is a powerful debut that brings into stark relief the devastating effects on humanity that can come from climate change. It feels eerily prescient and like a call to action amidst the current tragedy unfolding in Los Angeles. Literature helps shine a light on the lessons of our time when done well, and this is a prime example. May we learn those lessons.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me.

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This was a great cli-fi story. I really loved the characters, and I was rooting for them throughout. I've heard comparisons to Station Eleven, and I would say Station Eleven-lite. While I adored the story and the characters, I wasn't wowed by the writing. I did think the author can tell a story, though.

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Nonie and her family live on the roof of the American Museum of Natural History in New York, at a time when the glaciers have melted and the city is mostly deserted. There is no government, no electricity, and no contact with the outside world. When a massive hypercane floods everything, they must leave the museum they’ve been carefully protecting to find safety elsewhere. I liked the idea of the story but I found it a bit slow. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for an ARC of the story.

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I enjoyed the character development. The plot was much too slow for me, especially with such an anxiety provoking topic.

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A word of warning: don't start this book if you've got something else to do! Because you won't be able to put it down, I guarantee you. It's an amazing post-Apocalyptic story about water water everywhere, and no place to go to get away from it. When the polar ice caps melt, what happens to all the water? According to this book, the oceans rise so much that cities are uninhabitable, society breaks down, and medicines are more valuable than anything else. You'll read about Norah and her desire to live, regardless of what else is happening--and believe me, stuff is happening on every page. So buckle in, you're in for the ride of your life. Don't miss this one!

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This book was beautifully done and helps show the impact climate change will have on us. The focus on the history of humankind and not leaving the good things behind. This is a gorgeous story of survival, of moving forward, and of insuring to find humanity in the darkest of places.

Honestly, I really think everyone should read this book. And it should probably be adapted into a film.

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When I first picked this up, I noticed it was very similar to another book I just read, 'Awake in the Floating City' by Susanna Kwan. Both revolve around flooding cities in the wake of climate change. In this case Nonie, and her family and friends take refuse after a giant flood on the top of the American Museum of Natural History. They grow their own food and only take items from the museum if absolutely necessary. This did remind me quite a bit of 'Station 11', as the family soon has to make a move to escape more dangerous flood waters. On their journey to high ground, they encounter many other families that have altered their way of life to survive amid global climate change. This was a very timely story for me as I read this during the height of the CA wildfires here in Los Angeles.

This is a story about the power of community, resilience, and the ability to adapt to change. As a first debut novel, this was a great effort, with good character development, and plot devices. You'll be rooting for the main characters as they try to reinvent their lives in the wake of impending disaster.

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An amazing debut novel!! I absolutely loved this book! The idea of the world being flooded and weather being crazy is something that could maybe happen. This apocalyptic version of the world was so good! Nonie's POV was unique and a beautiful way to see The World As It Is. Highly recommend!

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A slow start in a future world that turns into my biggest nightmare. A world overflowing with water. Science fiction? Yes. Horror? For me, absolutely.

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All the Water in the World was a really good one! It follows a teen girl and her family (both biological and found) as they navigate the water apocalypse. I love an apocalypse, and let's be honest, the water one is the only kind I stand a chance in. I really loved the characters, oddly enough, especially the side characters. Honestly, I could have read entire books just about each of them. And the world building was great, too! It was exciting, and I was wholly invested throughout. And the atmosphere was absolutely on point. I felt the sogginess, you know?

Also, this would make an *amazing* show. Can we please get someone on this? A water world with a great cast of characters whose backstories are as provocative as their current stories, with unlimited world, plot, and character development potential is just... it's the apocalypse show I need. So if someone can do me a solid and grab the rights to this ASAP, I'd be forever grateful.

Bottom Line: This one was a huge hit, now can I please watch it somewhere, too?

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*Thanks to Netglley and St. Martin’s for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.*

Dystopian and post-apocalyptic books may seem like a strange genre to embrace as climate change ravages the planet, but I have found them to be more compelling because of their proximity to real crises. All the Water in the World makes Manhattan a storm-ravaged wasteland, home to few and dangerous to all. The tender relationships among the survivors of intense superstorms and the ensuing flooding were written with grace and incredible humanity. Encountering unique challenges and harnessing their individual gifts, the deeply bonded sisters at the heart of this story have especially stuck with me. On par with Emily St. John Mandel and Julia Phillips’ climate disaster novels, All the Water in the World is already a top book of 2025 for me.

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Thank you #StMartinsPress and #NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
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I love a dystopian book and this dystopian climate fiction has me thinking about every possibility. All of the glaciers in the planet melted along with unpredictable weather leaves the planet under water. Nonie and her family seek refuge on the roof of the American Museum of Natural History. I found that fascinating. Think about all of the information and resources you can find in a museum. I would love to see this as a tv series!

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This is a gripping and hopeful read that will resonate with fans of captivating climate fiction, particularly those who appreciate stories about resilience, community, and the power of preserving human knowledge and love in the face of catastrophic change.

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I was drawn in from the very beginning, and this book didn't let go. I'm actually hoping for a sequel! What a scary world this one could become if we don't get a handle on climate change. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

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I really enjoyed this. As I get more interested in science fiction, I find myself very interested in the world that could be as opposed to one that feels too far away. The plot of this book was very original, the setting felt true and immersive, and it truly made me think. It was a bit more light handed than I expected; I think I expected something with a bit more bite. But I loved Nonie's POV and felt that she was an extremely strong lead.

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❤️ For my friends who want an action-packed, heart-filled post-apocalyptic literary thriller.

ALL THE WATER IN THE WORLD by Eiren Caffall (Eunice Wong, Narrator)

🎧 Thanks, @stmartinspress and @Macmillan.audio, for the book and audiobook review copies via #NetGalley. (Available now) 8 hours, 12 minutes

After a global climate-based apocalypse floods New York City, a small group of researchers create a settlement in the American Museum of Natural History. They are equally concerned with their survival and the preservation of their collections, comparing themselves to curators in Iraq and Leningrad, who worked to protect their collections from war. With them are 13-year-old Nonie, her father, and her older sister. But when a superstorm breaches the flood walls, they are forced to flee north, facing threats from the elements and other survivors on their way.

This brilliantly written literary thriller was as heart-pounding as it was heart-wrenching. It highlighted the unbreakable bonds of a family—both those we’re born into and those we find along the way.

The audiobook performance is exceptional. Eunice Wong perfectly captures the nuance of each character and adds a haunting quality to Nonie’s old soul in a young body.

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All the Water in the world
I thought this was a very good book! I enjoyed the characters and the story as a whole! Slow burning post apocalyptic journey to survive a flooded world.
Thanks net galley and st martins press for this arc.

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This is really something special. When I read the description comparing it to Station Eleven-one of my all-time favorites and a book that completely changed the way I think of and interact with people-I knew I wanted to give it a try. This is a story told by Nonie, whose family has had to relocate to living on top of the American Museum of Natural History in NYC. At some point in the present or near future, climate changes have altered life as we know it to something unrecognizable. Nonie's parents are scientists that are employed by the AMNH (or "Amen" as they call it) so it felt natural to them to retreat to the roof when things started getting dangerous outside. But as with all apocalyptic scenarios, food is scarce and medications are long gone. Even though the waters continue to rise outside, this family has to find another living situation. They decide to borrow a canoe from one of the museum exhibits and navigate the Hudson River north to a small farm owned by Nonie's family. Not everyone that sets out from Amen makes it alive, and there are dangers around every bend in the river.

So this really felt like three separate tales to me: the first half is Nonie's family living in a longhouse on the roof of AMNH with a few others, a tightknit community of found family. When they leave, the journey upriver is like a completely separate story. Interspersed throughout are flashback chapters of an earlier life. My favorite of all of these was the tale of the journey to the farm. The whole story was breathtaking and suspenseful and emotional and introspective, but the time spent on the run was fast-paced and thrilling and dangerous. When I began the book, I had to adjust my reading speed to slow down and really take my time with the chapters because of the emotional weight of what was happening. I really felt a lot in these pages and I thought about it a lot when I was not reading. But once the small group went on the run, I felt like I couldn't read fast enough. It took me a full week to read the first half of the book and only a few hours to read the second half.

There is a lot of science in here, which I loved. The story doesn't waste its time teaching you what any of it means; you either have to know it already or stop and look things up along the way, if that suits you. It suited me just fine and I managed to learn some stuff. I believe that people who love STEM will find a lot in here to love.

One of my favorite details, and one of the most terrifying, is that of a world where hurricanes have become hypercanes-where every aspect of the huge storms if BIGGER and more destructive. Reading the hypercane chapters felt like I was standing right in it, drenched from the rain and windblown, trying to survive. Absolutely fascinating.

Anyway, I loved it. I am exactly the right reader for this book and I'm so glad that it found me. I feel good about how everything ended. It was stressful to me to put myself in Nonie's place, or Bix's or Mary's or Esther's, but I did it anyway. And that's one of the reasons this will sit with me for a very long time. It's a world that could exist with the climate changes we are experiencing, and there is definitely a lot of food for thought. I'm so glad I read it. I loved the quiet intelligence and emotion of the first half so much, and I also loved the danger and suspense of the second half. Even though it isn't Station Eleven exactly, I can see why there is a comparison there.

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3.5 stars rounded up for this climate-oriented survival story with a quiet but tough cast of characters -- I ended up enjoying this one. Candidly I felt like it started a little bit slow, and early on I felt like the continual switches between the two timelines were a little distracting as the story and characters got established. But around the one-third mark it really picked up and introduced more of the adventure elements that pulled the plot along, and I got sucked further in pretty quickly. It's a little more plot-driven than character-driven, which is different from some of the other speculative sci-fi type reads I've enjoyed, but was an interesting premise all the same!

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All the Water in the World is told by a girl who is gifted with a feeling for water and this takes place in a flooded future. This drew me in by the cover and had me captivated from the beginning. The author wrote this so well and I was turning pages until the end. All of the characters were interesting and good in this one. Overall, this was the perfect science fiction and dystopian read that I highly enjoyed and would recommend to any reader who loves science fiction. Thank you to NetGalley and St Martins Press for this read in exchange of my honest review of All the Water in the World by Eiren Caffall.

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