Drinkwater was originally an English word given to someone who
abstains from drinking alcohol. As a family name it represents
sobriety, dignity and self-control.
Nineteen-year-old Amber Drinkwater knows that when life
presents hardships, a responsible person meets them fairly, with a
clear head and the willingness to work. her plans to start a new
life in Toronto with her brother Guy are interrupted when their
uncle fails to meet them at the train station, but she resolves to
abide until he turns up--and when it seems their caretaker is gone
for good, she accepts it as an unexpected but timely call to
independence and adult responsibility, in spite of her dearth of
money or friends in the city.
The sprawling city of Toronto represents a shining opportunity
for Amber to prove herself through an old code of grim endurance
and bold resignation, but she will find her simple work ethic is no
match for its modern towers, dark streets and disjointed
neighbourhoods. Drinkwater is a provocative story that blurs the
borders between teenage empowerment and helplessness, between
experience and naivety, and between optimism and blind hope.