What would you do if you suddenly woke up and found yourself floating away on the sea with no view of land or another person? In Cary Fagan’s newest middle grade story, illustrated by Jon McNaught, Water, Water, readers explore the idea of a world changing event and how people survive.

Rafe wakes up to find himself in his bedroom as usual but the bedroom seems to be floating. He looks out the window and finds his bedroom is floating on a vast sea of water. How and why it got there is a complete mystery. Where his parents ended up is also unclear. What we do know is Rafe and his dog Buddy are all alone floating along and learning how to survive.

Water, Water is a story that will leave readers thinking, contemplating the fate of the world due to climate change. Although nothing is explicitly said, readers can deduce that the world has flooded, presumably due to a climate event. How do we survive this type of world changing occurrence? What can we do now to try and prevent something this devastating from happening? Cary Fagan’s story, although seemingly scary, was actually comforting in a strange way. Readers will have many questions including how could Rafe’s bedroom float on the sea for so long without springing a leak but the idea of survival and independence is clear. Cary Fagan’s writing is accessible and gentle while still clear in its message about global catastrophe.

I loved Rafe’s ingenuity and confidence. He got right to business, used his instincts to help him survive and even helped others along the way. The element of connection was very strong. When Rafe rescued Dao, they had a hard time communicating at first but with patience and understanding learned to get their messages across. A reminder that climate change is a global issue and one that can only be solved if countries are working along side one another with patience and understanding.

Jon McNaught’s illustrations are graphic two tone pictures with a comic quality to them. I love the choice to use just blue, black and white, keeping things simple, connecting to the topic of water and breaking up the story just right.