Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

“Yes, it can get people to buy your products, but it can lead to acting on intrusive thoughts, sending people into violent rages…”

This was my first ever graphic novel and I’m really surprised by the experience! I didn’t expect to feel fully immersed in a book outside of the normal novel format, but this sucked me in more than I expected and I really enjoyed the different story layout. If anyone has any graphic novel recommendations, let me know! So happy to be sharing my thoughts of Something In The Water!

About the book

In the quiet town of Marlon, Georgia, a seemingly harmless corporate sponsorship brings Sweet Water to every student, family, and home. But high school seniors Daniel and Jeremy soon realize there’s something far more dangerous in those bottles than they could have ever imagined.

As strange, violent behavior spreads through their school and town, the boys uncover a terrifying Sweet Water is laced with a mind-altering chemical that heightens aggression and impulsivity. Behind it all is Rainforest, a shadowy global corporation willing to sacrifice everything for profit—even human lives.

Now, with a body count rising and trust in short supply, Daniel and Jeremy must team up with a rogue scientist to expose the toxic truth before Sweet Water takes over more than just their town. But with friends turning into foes and chaos lurking around every corner, survival isn’t guaranteed.

My thoughts

Because I read this on my Kindle, I don’t think I got the full ‘comic book feel’ which I expected, but it was still pretty damn good! I think I’ve been spoilt by memories of me laying on my bed in my room or laying on my stomach on the floor turning page after page. BUT, saying this, the artwork is beautiful and it’s just how I remember proper comic books being illustrated back in the day, so this made up for all that.

The premise was clear and I loved it; a corporate sponsorship brings bottles of Sweet Water to people in the town of Marlon and we soon learn that global corporation, Rainforest, has tampered with this water supply. A mind-altering chemical is causing people who drink it to become more aggressive and impulsive, which we soon see has so many shocking consequences. The text and images were easy to follow and the detail in each comic strip had me spending so much longer than was necessary poring over the pages. The detail is just out of this world! I felt fearful of Rainforest’s leader, and knew there’d be so much more to learn about him. I really liked the high school seniors we follow as an alternate POV. Daniel and Jeremy always share banter and jokes, but how would their lives change when they understand what this water was doing to people?

There is such brilliant humour laced with the seriousness, and the balance was really well done. The shocking elements felt even more real with the illustrations to go with them. A scientist working with Rainforest catches on to what the water does to the human brain and makes it his mission to tell the world the truth. I only hoped Daniel and Jeremy would be able to spread the word and save people before the world turned into complete chaos. The idea of this happening in real life was so incredibly terrifying. There were horrific scenes, brilliant twists and even pretty dark moments that I wasn’t expecting and I loved how everything came together. I was a little confused by who a couple of characters were at times but it didn’t take long for me to work them out so it didn’t affect my experience too much.

Despite it being a short read, it really packed a punch. I was so absorbed in every page and I genuinely loved the story. I would have loved it to be a longer read, but I also appreciated just how brilliant the story was told and how complex it was in a shorter format. It just worked. I’d really recommend this one – even if, like me, graphic novels aren’t something you’d usually pick up. A quick, impressive read with pages that are just stunning to look at!

Something In The Water is available right now. You can grab your own copy on Amazon!

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