Drought by Pam Bachorz

Ruby Prosser dreams of escaping the Congregation and the early-nineteenth century lifestyle that’s been practiced since the community was first enslaved.
She plots to escape the vicious Darwin West, his cruel Overseers, and the daily struggle to gather the life-prolonging Water that keeps the Congregants alive and gives Darwin his wealth and power. But if Ruby leaves, the Congregation will die without the secret ingredient that makes the Water special: her blood.
So she stays.
But when Ruby meets Ford, the new Overseer who seems barely older than herself, her desire for freedom is too strong. He’s sympathetic, irresistible, forbidden—and her only access to the modern world. Escape with Ford would be so simple, but can Ruby risk the terrible price, dooming the only world she’s ever known?

I finished this book in February and I wasn't sure, if I loved it or not. t has been two months and I still have very mixed feelings about Drought. I really like Ruby. She was a really sweet character, but I didn't like that she was overpowered so easily by the Congregation and didn't make that many decisions. Ford was also an amazing person, and I loved the magnetic relationship between Ruby and him. A lot of the other character felt flat, because the oppression lost a lot of their personality. The cult was also frightening and I was rooting for Ruby to find an escape. The plot was very simple and repetitive for a lot of the book, but it slowly became quite of a magical book that captured my imagination. Sadly, a lot that I wanted to know were left out of the book. The writing in Drought is fantastic, and I really loved Bachorz's style. The writing was truly magical, but parts of the characters and plot weren't as developed as I would have liked. I would recommend this book, if you are looking for something very different to read.