If Esther and Caleb thought that their life would be easier with the discovery of the pure underground spring water and the death of levi, they were seriously wrong. Although water is now in abundance, food supplies are running seriously low. And then a massive earthquake destroys Prin so that Esther, Caleb and Joseph have no choice but to flee the city for a mythical place called Mundreeal. Esther has noticed the bruises and marks on her variant friend Skar's body and wants her to join them but Skar refuses. Then her partner Tarq beats her so badly that Skar decides to follow. Out in the poisoned wilderness with little water and food, a small band heads to what they hope will be a city to provide for them. Unfortunately, they run into some other less than honorable wanderers. Spoiler alert : a major character dies! Ugh...did NOT see that coming at all. Esther and the band must enlist the help of a mysterious blind boy called Aras to get to their final destination. And when they get there? A future that looks rosy may not be so...think soylent green.... ( )

I loved this book! I did not know it was part of a trilogy when I picked it up at the local used bookstore. I was still able to follow the plot even with it being part 2 of the series. I could not put it down and finished it in about 6 hours while waiting at the hospital with my husband. ( )

I wanted to read the Wanderers because I enjoyed the first book and wanted to see what became of the village and especially of Ester and Caleb. I didn't remember a whole lot about it but the beginning does a good job of a short summary without feeling the info dump weight. We quickly got a handle on the characters again and their relation and thoughts about one another.
One thing that still bugs me but I got used to was the weird perspective, I guess shifting third person but it seems to focus in a lot and then all of the sudden jump to another person with little to no warning or transition.
I liked Caleb in this one, he is the strong type who leads and really thinks about other people and the well being but especially his relationship with Ester. Their little family including the baby from his deceased first wife (they don't live past teen years from something in the water or atmosphere, so family life happens early in this world set-up).
Some of the same characters--Joseph and Sakar are in this one as well and we get more of a sense of their character, history and their attachment to our strong, compassionate Ester. She went through so many changes, losses and horrors but she still thinks of others and people look up to her. We also get some new secondary characters or get a character from the first and shine a new light on them where you can't help but admire.
There was a lot going on in the romance department and not only for Ester, there was relationships brewing that I would have never speculated and others that were sweet in a way and then almost wrong in others. But all of this was kind of put on the back burner during the day, but when they stop on their journey for the night, they blossom.
The bad guys were pretty cruel and I wanted to smack them in the usual fashion, but let me say that they get what's coming to them all in their own ways. There are some betrayals and schemes that they walk into because they don't have much of a choice. But as far as who works against them, Mundreel really took me by surprise but I almost pitied the kids until they took unnecessary measures.
There were a few plot developments that I saw coming and almost hoped for but then again its so bittersweet that its hard even in its good news sense. There were some twists that took me by surprise and wasn't at all what I was thinking the story was going to go, but I can also see how it is a good stage for the next book to wrap up some things that are still not tied up.
Also, thank goodness, we do get some insight on what happened to the world and water. It actually seems in the realm of possibility which really makes a chill go down my spine. Thanks to Joseph and his inquisitive nature that not only gives a point of reference and someone that isn't the normal in this world but shows Ester's protective nature and that she sees past things that others can't. Which started at a young age with her friendship with Skar. Speaking of whom, I loved how she was developed in this one, and I liked "getting into her head" as much as you can with the shifting narrative, but I loved the growth in her and the confidence that she gains in this book.
This book was fast paced and kept my attention but I did feel like a dystopian Game of Thrones where people that I like are killed off, and I could scream. There are a few people that should be safe and then others that we want to be, but Kim and Klavan didn't hold things back. I can see how it helped them in the future to make certain alliances and that I couldn't help but like some of the characters that got more of a feature in romantics as a secondary character because of the deaths.
The ending was good but I feel like a lot about Mundreel was rushed and not very well elaborated on, but I do know that I want to read the book and see what happens with the new struggle of power, and what Ester will do next for her friends, the strays they picked up along the way, and working towards not only survival but a better quality of life.

Bottom Line: Fast paced account of the group of Prin citizens looking for a better life. ( )