So I decided to embark on a quest to broaden my horizons, and the first book that I picked up in the library is Memory of Water. However, I’ve slowly come to realise that science fiction does include much more than just “space stories”, and that one of my favourite book series, The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is actually labelled as science fiction. It is one of those genres that I’ve never really tried to get into, mostly because I thought that scifi was all about space, and space just isn’t my cup of tea.

Imaginative and engaging, lyrical and poignant, Memory of Water is an indelible novel that portrays a future that is all too possible.Ĭonfession: I’ve never been an active reader of science fiction.

And as water becomes even scarcer, Noria must choose between safety and striking out, between knowledge and kinship. Tea masters alone know the location of hidden water sources, including the natural spring that Noria’s father tends, which once provided water for her whole village.īut secrets do not stay hidden forever, and after her father’s death the army starts watching their town – and Noria.

In this far north place, seventeen-year-old Noria Kaitio is learning to become a tea master like her father, a position that holds great responsibility and great secrets. Wars are waged over water, and China rules Europe, including the Scandinavian Union, which is occupied by the power state of New Qian. Global warming has changed the world’s geography and its politics.

Memory of water by emmi itäranta